Sugar Rush: Destiny
by TheDisneyFan365
Summary: The Nightmare King has finally arrived and is hunting down Vanellope and Swizzle. Sugar Rush is forced into a fight with the most dangerous enemy they've ever faced, and this time, everything they've ever known is at stake. Sequel to Sugar Rush: Creature From Retroville.
1. Prologue

**Chapter 1: Prologue**

 _"Location: Bavaria, April 1945"_

"Bombers are clear, sir." a soldier announced.

"Alright, Sergeant Arthur, it's time." another soldier said.

Lieutenant Brooke pointed to the duo of jeeps that were pulled up by an alpine road. His men leaped into them, ready to move out.

 _Okay, maybe we need some background. Let's start at the beginning._

"Eyes on the road and keep sharp. Command isn't expecting any resistance here, but that doesn't mean that you can go to sleep on me." Brooke ordered as the jeeps began to move.

 _That guy is named Lieutenant Oscar Brooke. He's an officer in the British Army, back during World War II. A year earlier, he and his men got trapped in the realm of the 'Man in the Black Suit', a demonic entity who managed to take over the world for a day._

The jeeps roared down the hill, heading towards a destroyed base in a valley.

 _Now he's in command of a top-secret unit of Allied commandos... Americans, Brits, Canadians, French... tasked with finding any and all information on the Man in the Black Suit and his plans._

The lead jeep rolled right through the front gate and pulled over, the second pulling up next to it. The commandos aboard jumped out, spreading out and looking for any signs of trouble.

"Clear!" one yelled.

"So far so good. Conli, Kahrs, cover the jeeps. The rest of you, on me." Brooke ordered.

 _You see, the Man in the Black Suit was trying to pre-empt someone called 'the Nightmare King'. Since nobody wants to tangle with somebody who literally has 'Nightmare' in their name, Allied command wanted to be prepared for when he turned up._

Brooke forced a bunker door open, raising his weapon at two hapless guards inside.

"Hande hock! Schnell!" Brooke shouted in broken German.

The two guards dropped their weapons and raised their arms up.

 _By this time, the German Army had mostly given up, so the main problem wasn't fighting their way to the information they wanted..._

The commandos pushed through the bunker, ignoring the staff as they headed for the command room.

 _It was getting it in time._

Brooke and Arthur forced their way into the central command room of the bunker. An officer was standing in the middle of the room, holding up a file in one hand and a lighter in the other. Arthur threw his ration tin at him, knocking him to the floor. Brooke stared at the sergeant.

"It worked, didn't it?" Arthur asked.

"I guess so." Brooke replied, crossing his arms.

* * *

About two hours later, a company of American soldiers had arrived at the base and were rifling through the bunker for anything that might be useful. Brooke and his commandos were standing casually next to their jeeps, the officer tied to a nearby pole.

Just then, a olive US Army sedan pulled up in front of them. The driver jumped out, ran around the car, and opened the door for its occupant. The man was short, slightly balding and bespectacled, and clad in a drab grey three-piece suit. He looked every bit the pencil-pusher, but the look in his eyes betrayed a sharp mind. He walked purposefully towards Brooke and offered his hand.

"Bobby Anders, OSS. I'm here on behalf of Colonel Chester Phillips and the Strategic Scientific Reserve." the man introduced.

"He couldn't come himself, sir?" Brooke asked, shaking the agent's hand.

"No, he's busy. Did you find anything interesting?" Bobby asked.

Brooke pointed to the officer.

"Our friend here is one Hauptsturmführer Schrader. Back in '43, he was the German Government's liaison to an individual called 'Der Mann im Schwarzen Anzug'." Brooke replied.

"The Man in the Black Suit. Why did he leave them?" Bobby asked.

"The schweinhund failed to produce anything that could help the Reich attain total victory. The Führer was not a patient man, so we turned to Der Albtraum König." Schrader replied pompously.

"You dealt with the Nightmare King?" Bobby asked.

"We attempted to. We tried to accelerate his arrival by making a portal into the Ghost Zone. We nearly had it, but then the Man in the Black Suit found out. He destroyed our equipment. Months of hard work, ruined! And by the time we had regained even a fraction of our progress, your General Patton was crossing the Rhine." Schrader replied.

"You poor man." Arthur said in mock sympathy.

"They did make a few interesting notes. Corporal Conli, give him the file." Brooke ordered.

"Oui, Monsieur." a French commando said.

He handed Bobby the file.

"Some of it might be hard to read. Some bright spark decided to coat it in lighter fluid in an attempt to burn it, but they've studied prophecies, ancient runes, and word of mouth from the Man in the Black Suit. It turns out that his arrival is directly tied to the existence of man-made ghost portals." Brooke explained.

"How so?" Bobby asked, flipping through the file.

"They act as beacons to him, like radar. If you open too many, or build one on a place with a lot of dormant ectoplasmic energy, he takes it as his cue to attack. After that, it's only a matter of months before he gathers his forces and comes through to our world." Brooke replied.

"There's a map of the United States here. What's this thing that they've circled?" Bobby asked.

"It's the highest concentration of dormant ectoplasmic energy in the universe. The city of Amity Park, Illinois, in The World Of Nickelodeon." Brooke replied.

 _And 164 years later, that's where they came in..._


	2. The Calm

**Chapter 2: The Calm**

 _"Location: Litwak's Arcade, The World Of Disney, July 11th 2109"_

 _"Good morning, Sugar Rush. It is now half past eight on what's turning out to be a beautiful Monday morning in our fair game, and that means it's time to go over the headlines..."_ a radio announcer said.

Vanellope rolled out of bed, sleepily walking over to her closet.

"Uuuggh." Vanellope muttered.

She opened the closet, revealing rows and rows of identical clothing.

"I really have to get different clothes." Vanellope muttered.

She began to get changed, groggily half-listening to the radio.

 _"Electrical energy over New York is believed to be normal. Now over to Lance Thunder with the weather. What are we looking at, Lance?"_ the radio announcer asked.

 _"We're looking at sunny skies all day, with possible showers after dark. Apart from that, it's another warm sunshiny day in Sugar Rush and the rest of the arcade."_ the weather reporter, named Lance, replied.

Vanellope, having finished getting dressed, pulled open her blinds, allowing the sunlight to pour into her room. She closed her eyes and smiled.

 _"Just another perfect day in Sugar Rush."_ Vanellope thought.

Just then, her portal key beeped. She reached into her skirt's pocket and pulled out her portal key. A message was displayed on the screen.

 _Anyone up for training? –TM._

She was about to reply when another few messages came through.

 _Do we have to? -CDO._

 _I'm doing some flight training right now. Meet up? -SM._

Vanellope grinned.

 _"Well, it looks like I know what I'm doing today."_ Vanellope thought.

* * *

 _"Location: Richmond, Virginia, July 11th 2109"_

"Alright, we're all set. I'm tracking your speed now. Good luck, Swizzle." Citrusella said, pressing a button on a timer.

Swizzle was standing on the front steps of Candi, Timothy, and Crumbelina's castle. The other Sugar Rush racers, Cinndon, Candace, Toxika, Damon, and Crepe were standing around him, waiting for him to go.

"Okay, can you go over this again?" Swizzle asked.

Jubileena pointed at an alleyway.

"You run across the road into the alleyway, jump onto that dumpster, and cross the city as fast as you can. Once your there, stop and catch your breath, and then we'll go for the height test." Jubileena replied.

Swizzle nodded.

"Got it. Wish me luck!" Swizzle said.

"On three. One... two... three!" Vanellope said.

Swizzle was off. He covered the distance between the castle and the dumpster pretty quickly, leaped onto the dumpster in a single bound, and then jumped again and began to fly. All too soon, however, he was forced to come to a stop as he reached Richmond's limits. He landed next to a tree, put a finger over his ear, and spoke into an earpiece.

"How did I do?" Swizzle asked.

 _"You got an average speed of 600 mph, peaked at 655. Not bad."_ Vanellope replied.

"Not bad? What, you think you could fly faster?" Swizzle asked.

 _"With the right modifications to my glitch hovering abilities, yeah."_ Vanellope replied.

 _"Save it for later, guys. It's height time."_ Taffyta said.

"What's my record?" Swizzle asked.

 _"Last time, we made 20,000 feet."_ Candi replied.

"I can beat that." Swizzle said, cockily.

 _"You had a jet that time."_ Candlehead said.

"I've been practicing." Swizzle said.

 _"Well, I guess we'll find out. Liftoff in five... four... three... two... one!"_ Gloyd said.

Swizzle thundered into the air. Below him, Richmond shrank into the distance as he roared through the clouds, eyes closed and grinning wildly. He could just barely hear Citrusella counting up his height in his ear, focusing hard on getting as high as he could. Higher and higher he flew, until he eventually passed his record. He was still showing no sign of stopping.

 _"Impossible! He can't have improved that much since..."_ Nougetsia started to say.

 _"Hey, Nougetsia, just let him do his thing, alright?"_ Snowanna asked.

Swizzle smirked and opened his eyes. It was at that point that he saw a fighter jet coming straight at him.

"Gaaah!" Swizzle exclaimed, dodging out of the way as the jet thundered past.

 _"Swizzle? Swizzle, are you okay?"_ Jubileena asked in concern.

"I'm fine. Some people just... don't look where they're flying, I guess." Swizzle replied, watching the jet vanish into the distance. He rubbed the back of his head and asked "Well, there goes all my momentum. How did I do?".

 _"28,000 ft, Swizzle. New personal best."_ Citrusella replied.

 _"That'll do for today. Come on, we've got... hold on."_ Vanellope said.

Swizzle waited impatiently for Vanellope to come back on.

 _"We got a problem. City museum. It looks like Zwarte Pete escaped from the Observants... again. We'll meet you there."_ Vanellope said.

Swizzle nodded and looked down towards the museum.

 _"Just another day in my life."_ Swizzle thought, diving back down towards Richmond.

* * *

 _"Location: Amity Park, The World Of Nickelodeon, July 11th 2109"_

Deep in the Ghost Zone, Walker was walking through his prison, Bullet by his side.

The prison was in chaos. The guards were packing everything up, and the prisoners were clutching at the bars of the cells, trying fruitlessly to escape. It was no less chaotic outside, of course, and not just in the usual Ghost Zone sense of the word.

The Nightmare King was coming, and nobody wanted to be there when he arrived.

"Warden! A word, perhaps?" someone asked.

Walker stopped walking and turned to one of the cells. Calamitous, Crocker, and Plankton were huddled in a cell, looking expectantly at him.

"This, um, Nightmare King fellow. He's a bit of a... err... problem, isn't he? Would you care to... um... um..." Calamitous started to ask.

Walker chuckled darkly.

"Let you out? You wanted to break out my prisoners, boys? Well then, by all means... break yourselves out." Walker replied.

Walker grinned nastily and walked away.

"Well, we're in trouble." Plankton said.


	3. The Warning

**Chapter 3: The Warning**

 _"Location: New York City, New York, July 11th 2109"_

Gizmo glanced at his watch as he walked through the concourse of Grand Central Station.

"Four hours." Gizmo muttered to himself.

"We would have been here sooner if you hadn't made us take the train." Monty said angrily.

"Monty, do you really want to have to get through New York traffic? It can't be done!" Gizmo said.

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a phone. He pressed a red button on the top and put it to his ear.

"Techie, any news from our British friend?" Gizmo asked.

 _"Plenty. Do you want the bad news or the horrible news?"_ the techie asked.

Gizmo sighed.

"Lay it on me, techie." Gizmo replied.

 _"We've got epicenters on the energy build-ups. So far we have confirmed activity over the Empire State Building, the Kremlin, the Forbidden Palace, and New Parliament House."_ the techie explained.

Gizmo nodded.

"Gotcha. I'm going to guess that that isn't a coincidence." Gizmo said.

 _"Charbonneau's pretty certain that it isn't. He's trying to send out a warning to get people away from those places. He's dusting off the old 'gas leak' routine. Anyway, that's the bad news."_ the techie explained.

"So that isn't the worse news?" Gizmo asked as he and Monty walked out of the station.

 _"Not even close. We've got no idea where the Nightmare King is coming out, what he's sending where, or even what's going to happen when he arrives. We think that he might be using the energy build-up to open portals. We've also stepped up aerial overwatch of Amity Park in case he tries the Fenton Portal."_ the techie replied.

"He won't. That's too obvious." Gizmo said.

 _"So is New York."_ the techie said. He then asked _"Anyway, are you heading to the Chrysler Building?"_.

"It was the Man in the Black Suit's base, so there's got to be some intel there. I'll call you when I get there. Anders out." Gizmo replied.

He hung up the phone.

"Nice kid, but sometimes, he's way too pessimistic." Gizmo muttered.

* * *

 _"Location: Hereford, England, July 11th 2109"_

Colonel R.Z. Charbonneau stood in a massive underground facility underneath a military base in Hereford, somewhere roughly in the middle of England. Around him, his men were busily grabbing every file and box they could carry because the base was being moved. It was a decision made well in advance. With no sign of ectoplasmic activity in the British Isles, his organisation, the Royal Extraterrestrial Research Enclave, was free to move from it's static underground base to a more mobile position. RERE had been created in the late 1940s as a secret organisation dedicated to protecting the country from extraterrestrial and paranormal threats... or at least, that's what it was on paper. In actuality, it had been founded by Major Oscar Brooke for the express purpose of researching a way to stop the Nightmare King.

164 years later, and the only thing they had come up with required relying on two kids and their team of friends.

Charbonneau's deputy, Captain Desmond Millard, walked up behind and saluted.

"Sir, Ander's made it to New York." Millard announced.

"Then it's time for us to leave. Come along." Charbonneau ordered.

"Sir, are you sure that you shouldn't wait? We just finished Project T. We should run tests to make sure..." Millard started to ask.

"There's no time, Captain. We shall just have to hope that it worked." Charbonneau replied.

* * *

 _"Location: Richmond, Virginia, July 11th 2109"_

"Your late, guys." Valerie said, crossing her arms.

The Sugar Rush racers, Cinndon, Candace, Toxika, Damon, and Crepe had arrived at Richmond's city museum to find Valerie Gray and a couple of nervous looking policemen holding a cuffed Zwarte Pete on the front steps.

"Wait, you caught him yourself?" Snowanna asked, sounding impressed.

"I wish. He didn't even fight back." Valerie replied.

"There is no point. Wasting energy on you would be as good as signing my own death warrant. Besides, I can easily escape any of your human prisons." Pete explained.

"Death warrant?" Crumbelina asked.

Vanellope rolled her eyes and turned to Pete.

"So, how did you slip the eyeballs, Pete?" Vanellope asked.

"I didn't 'slip' the Observants. They had already fled when I woke up this morning." Pete replied.

"Fled? From what?" Taffyta asked.

"The Nightmare King is coming." Pete replied.

There was a very long silence.

"How long?" Sticky asked.

"He will be here before the sun sets. And he will cut through you like a hot knife through butter." Pete replied.

"Yeah, whatever you say. Look, we've done this before, Pete. We've beaten Licortwist, the Syndicate, Jubilee, the Doom Tree and it's Wolfman, Silvia when she was bad, Akari, the Forgotten racers, Roxanne, the Ringmaster, Dan Phantom and Death Phantom, two viruses, Vanellope's darker counterpart, Thermyl, Aragon, the Shadowed One, Parasite, the Man in the Black Suit, many different criminals, and, oh yeah, you. We've got this." Gloyd said, raising an eyebrow cockily.

Pete shook his head.

"Arrogance will get you nowhere, Mr. Orangeboar. The Nightmare is a far greater threat then I, or anything, you've faced." Pete said.

He looked Adorabeezle in the eyes as a paddy wagon pulled up in front of them.

"You, the smart one. Your familiar with J. Robert Oppenheimer, correct?" Pete asked.

Adorabeezle nodded.

"Yeah, why?" Adorabeezle asked.

"Because when the Nightmare King comes through, well..." Pete started to reply. He chuckled as the policemen began to walk him to the wagon, and he said "I have become death, destroyer of worlds.".

He was pushed into the back of the wagon and locked inside. One of the police officers tipped his hat to Vanellope and climbed in, and he and the other police officers drove away.

"Well, he's pretty cheery." Valerie said.

"What was he talking about?" Candlehead asked, nervously.

"It's a quote, from one of the inventors of the atomic bomb." Adorabeezle replied.

"He is so full of it." Taffyta said.

"I think he might be serious. I mean, the Man in the Black Suit said the same sort of thing, and so did Agent Anders." Vanellope said.

Swizzle crossed his arms.

"Yeah, one of those guys was evil and the other one is some kind of paranoid secret agent." Swizzle said. He then shook his head and said "I mean, what's the worst thing that's ever happened to us? Every time we get told about some kind of world-ending monster, we beat it. We'll all head home, get some lunch, and wait for him to turn up. You'll see, it'll be easy.".

He turned around and started walking down the road, whistling to himself. The other Sugar Rush racers, Cinndon, Candace, Toxika, Damon, and Crepe looked at each other, shrugged, and followed Swizzle. Vanellope sighed heavily and rolled her eyes.

"Does this happen to you a lot?" Valerie asked.

"You have no idea." Vanellope replied.


	4. Preparation

**Chapter 4: Preparation**

 _"Location: Amity Park, The World Of Nickelodeon, July 11th 2109"_

"Alright, let's try this again." Calamitous said.

He and Crocker charged at the prison gates, carrying the Box Ghost as a battering ram. There was a loud crash as all three slammed into the gate, but nothing happened.

"Well, that didn't work. What now?" Plankton asked, standing well back with his arms crossed.

The prisoners had escaped their cells (the power had gone out not long after Walker left because, as it turned out, energy walls didn't work without power), but had so far failed to get out of the prison itself. The walls were too high to climb, and the floor was concrete so they couldn't dig their way out. They were stuck, and there was a very real fear that they wouldn't be out by the time the Nightmare King arrived.

"Okay, I think I heard the lock break. We just need one more charge. What do you say?" Crocker asked.

"I am the Box Ghost! No door can resist my cardboard wrath!" the Box Ghost replied.

The Syndicate collectively facepalmed.

"I'll take that as a yes. Okay... three... two... one..." Calamitous started to say.

The gate suddenly burst open. A row of eight foot tall ghosts marched in through the gates, aiming massive guns at the prisoners. Each of the ghosts wore grey steel helmets, gas masks, and long trenchcoats. Their eyes glowed red, and steam seemed to seep out of the edges of their masks. Their weapons were a rusty red, with massive barrels that glowed bright yellow. Behind them, wispy blob-like shadows soared through the gates, flying around the prisoners as they backed into the courtyard. To the left and right, the walls burst open, and more soldiers and shadows emerged from the holes. In seconds, the prisoners were trapped between them and the wall of a blockhouse behind them.

"Well, it's open." Plankton said, nervously.

"Convicts!" a voice shouted.

A ghostly figure walked through the soldiers in front of them, coming to a stop in front of the prisoners. He wore a very large bicorn hat and a blue-and-white eighteenth century uniform. He calmly put one hand behind his back and tucked the other in the coat of his jacket. Calamitous shook his head.

"Are you kidding? The Nightmare King is..." Calamitous started to ask.

"Non! I am not the Nightmare King, merely a lieutenant." the man replied. He began to pace in front of the prisoners and introduced "My name is Napoleon Bonaparte. You may have heard of me. I am a general and recruiter for the Nightmare King's armies.".

"Napoleon?" Penelope Spectra, who was towards the front of the crowd, asked in shock.

"C-Can I have your autograph?" Plankton asked.

Napoleon stopped and turned to look the prisoners in the eye.

"I am here to offer you a choice. Join our grand army and stand side by side with your ghost brethren, or suffer the consequences." Napoleon said.

"What consequences? How do you plan to destroy my boxy..." the Box Ghost started to ask.

"Who are you?" Napoleon asked.

"I am the Box Ghost!" the Box Ghost replied, raising a fist.

Napoleon nodded.

"Kill him." Napoleon ordered.

The ghost soldiers aimed their weapons. The Box Ghost threw his hands in the air.

"I-I was only kidding! It-it was a joke!" the Box Ghost shouted.

Napoleon rolled his eyes and raised an arm. The soldiers lowered their guns.

"So, do we have an accord?" Napoleon asked.

"W-Well yeah. Bu-But we're not actually ghosts." Crocker replied.

Napoleon nodded.

"Don't worry. You will be." Napoleon said.

He pointed to the prisoners. The shadows soared at them and began to circle around them. They were slow at first, but then grew faster and faster until they were a blur ringing around them.

"Soldiers, what does the Nightmare King demand of you?" Napoleon asked.

"Fealty." Calamitous replied, his eyes suddenly turning red.

"Uh, Finbarr? What are you..." Plankton started to ask.

He shuddered as his eye changed color.

"Loyalty." Plankton said.

"Obedience." Crocker said, his eyes changing color behind his glasses.

"Talent." the Box Ghost said.

"Ruthlessness." Spectra said, smirking as her eyes changed.

Napoleon nodded.

"Very good." Napoleon said. He then turned to his men and ordered "Gentlemen, sound off!".

The soldiers launched into a marching chant.

 _We are soldiers of the Nightmare King, we march in rank and file._

 _We have no shred of mercy to the foe whom we revile._

 _We fall upon the enemy like waves upon the sand._

 _We are the grim destroyer that descends upon their land._

 _The fire rolls beside us as we beat the Devil's drum._

 _The hellish sound before which none can help but to succumb._

 _We are the violent avatar for all your greatest fears._

 _We are the Nightmare King's Army, and we care not for your tears._

* * *

 _"Location: New York City, New York, July 11th 2109"_

"We care not for your tears. Geez, they could use a PR department." Gizmo said after reading from a file. He sighed, threw the file away, and muttered "Well, this was a waste of time.".

The Man in the Black Suit's throne room was still mostly intact, although bits had been stripped away by the CIA for 'testing'. What remained were a few notes regarding the Nightmare King's forces, but nothing on his plans or goals.

"What do we do? We might be able to get back to Washington before..." Monty started to ask.

"Out of the question, Monty. This is the largest city in the country. We don't leave until the Nightmare King does." Gizmo replied.

He began to pace back and forth by the window.

"Colonel Charbonneau sent us here for a reason. It can't just have been to dig for intelligence. There's got to be something..." Gizmo started to say.

"Maybe he wants us to find allies." Monty suggested.

"And where, pray tell, are we going to find them? We're in a city of eight million! Where..." Gizmo started to ask.

He trailed off as Monty pulled out a photo and handed it to him. The photo showed a modern-looking tower with a single letter A on the top.

"You've got to be kidding me." Gizmo said.

* * *

 _"Location: Richmond, Virginia, July 11th 2109"_

Vanellope walked into the castle's dining room, looking at Candi, who was sitting at the dining room table.

"Hey, Candi. You want to go to New York in the Marvel Realm of the Dream World?" Vanellope asked.

"No." Candi replied.

"Too bad." Vanellope said.

Vanellope threw a newspaper onto the table. The other Sugar Rush racers, Cinndon, Candace, Toxika, Damon, and Crepe had also been sitting in the dining room eating lunch. Candi grabbed the newspaper and dragged it over.

"Humanoid robot sighted over the Dream World version of New York City. Stark questioned. How does this concern us?" Candi asked.

"Look at the picture." Vanellope replied, pointing at a photograph beneath the headline.

Everyone leaned over it.

"Is that Jeremy?" Minty asked.

Vanellope nodded.

"Yep. And I want you to go find her." Vanellope replied.

"Pass." Candi said.

"We'll do it. We might need his help fighting the Nightmare King." Minty said, putting a hand over Candi's mouth.

"Might? Guys, we need everyone we can get. Swizzle might not take the Nightmare King seriously, but I do." Vanellope said.

"How exactly are we getting to the Dream World New York?" Candi asked.

"I'll put it into your portal keys. Finish lunch and then meet me out front." Vanellope replied.

* * *

 _"Location: New York City, New York, July 11th 2109"_

Charbonneau and Millard sat in a helicopter, looking at their watches.

"Twenty minutes, sir." Millard stated.

"Here we go." Charbonneau whispered.


	5. The Nightmare King

**Chapter 5: The Nightmare King**

 _"Location: New York City, the Marvel Realm of the Dream World, July 11th 2109"_

"Fifteen minutes." Monty said.

"I know, Monty." Gizmo said.

The two agents walked into the concourse of Stark Tower and made their way to the front desk.

"May I help you?" the receptionist asked.

"Anders and Hux, CIA. We need to see the owner." Gizmo replied.

"Do you have an appointment?" the receptionist asked.

"Yes. It's called Armageddon." Gizmo replied.

* * *

 _"Location: Amity Park, The World Of Nickelodeon, July 11th 2109"_

The Sugar Rush racers, Cinndon, Candace, Toxika, Damon, and Crepe were standing in front of the Fenton Ghost Portal, prepared for when the Nightmare King would show up. Jimmy, Timmy, SpongeBob, Danny, Tak, and Dani were also there, having arrived three minutes earlier so they could help. There was a sudden beeping from the portal.

"Ghost proximity detector. It's nearly time." Danny said.

Swizzle looked over at Vanellope, who was starting to breathe heavily.

"Come on, Vanellope, this will be easy." Swizzle reassured.

"I wish I shared your confidence, Swizzle." Vanellope said.

* * *

 _"Location: New York City, the Marvel Realm of the Dream World, July 11th 2109"_

"That was horrible. I thought that we would never get past that secretary." Gizmo said as he and Monty entered the elevator.

Suddenly, there was a beeping from his jacket. Gizmo pulled out his phone and answered as the lift doors closed.

"Lay it on me, techie." Gizmo ordered.

 _"Are you anywhere near the Empire State Building?"_ the techie asked, his voice somewhat frantic.

"No, we're at Stark Tower. Why, is the portal opening?" Gizmo asked.

 _"You could say that. The energy build-ups are starting to behave like wormholes. Their beginning to suck matter up towards them."_ the techie replied, grimly.

"What are you saying, techie?" Gizmo asked, nervously.

 _"The portals will suck the buildings up. Rip them from their foundations, crumble them in the air, and when the rubble reaches the right altitude... big bang, portal opens."_ the techie replied.

Gizmo's eyes widened in horror.

"They aren't landing on the buildings. Their destroying them." Gizmo said in realization.

"It's a demonstration of the Nightmare King's power over us." Monty added.

"Techie, how do we prevent this?" Gizmo asked.

 _"Prevent it? Gizmo, it's already begun."_ the techie replied.

* * *

At the top of Stark Tower, a portal opened. Candi and Minty stepped out, the former shuddering a little in the cold afternoon breeze.

"Well, here we are in Dream World New York. No sign of Jeremy. Let's go home..." Candi started to say.

Minty pointed towards the Empire State Building.

"Candi, look." Minty said.

Candi looked over at the Empire State Building and her jaw dropped. The wind was blowing straight towards the building, creating a dim whirlwind around the structure.

* * *

 _"Location: Amity Park, The World Of Nickelodeon, July 11th 2109"_

Jazz was sitting in front of the TV, channel-surfing for anything that might be connected to the coming Nightmare King. So far, she had found a live debate by the Australian parliament on the study of ectoplasmic science. They were discussing ectoplasmic build-up over the capital of the country. Suddenly, the whole building shook, and Jazz fell off the couch.

"What the heck was that?" Jazz asked, climbing to her feet.

She looked at the TV. The debate had stopped, the politician that had been speaking glancing around nervously, his papers on the floor. It was as if he had also just been struck by a small earthquake.

"That's impossible." Jazz whispered.

The building shook again and she nearly lost her footing. There was a bang, and the television turned off.

* * *

 _"Location: New York City, the Marvel Realm of the Dream World, July 11th 2109"_

The elevator slammed to a halt.

"Oh, for the love of..." Gizmo started to say.

"Hold on, I've got an idea." Monty said, calmly.

He pointed to a small emergency flap on top of the elevator.

"Monty, he's on the top floor." Gizmo said in disbelief.

"Then we'd better start climbing." Monty said.

* * *

 _"Location: Amity Park, The World Of Nickelodeon, July 11th 2109"_

The Sugar Rush racers, Cinndon, Candace, Toxika, Damon, Crepe, Jimmy, Timmy, SpongeBob, Danny, Tak, and Dani stood in the now dark lab, lit only by the light of the portal. The building continued to shake, and even Swizzle was starting to look nervous.

"Come on, guys. We've been through worse. He's just trying to scare us..." Swizzle started to say, clenching his fists.

Suddenly a massive ectoblast emerged from the portal, slamming into Spongebob and sending him careening up the stairs. The others barely had time to shout out before more ectoblasts hit all of them except Vanellope and Swizzle, sending them flying after their friend.

"Guys!" Vanellope shouted.

The lab shook again. Caught off guard, Vanellope and Swizzle fell to the ground. There was the faint sound of roaring wind outside and the portal began to ripple violently.

Then, he emerged.

The Nightmare King was extremely tall, reaching ten feet. He wore black fairytale-like robes that reached down to the floor, and there was also black armor that he wore above the robes. His skin was extremely pale and almost rotting, and his face looked almost like a skull. A massive shard-like sword was sheathed on his waist. A light sneer crossed his face, and he pierced Vanellope and Swizzle with a stare from fiery yellow eyes. A ghostly aura surrounded him, making it look like he was surrounded by fire.

"Von Schweetz, Malarkey, your destinies await." the Nightmare King whispered.

"Leave us alone." Swizzle ordered, trying and failing to sound brave.

The Nightmare King didn't reply. He instead looked over the kids at his feet.

"You have more power in you then I had dared imagine. You will make perfect heirs." the Nightmare King said.

Vanellope and Swizzle climbed to their feet.

"Not likely. You hurt our friends!" Vanellope snapped.

"I will do far more then that, Von Schweetz." the Nightmare King said.

He reached down and grabbed her and Swizzle by their necks.

"I can make you great, kids. I want you to think about that... and what will happen if you refuse me." the Nightmare King said, ignoring Vanellope and Swizzle's squirming and their feeble attempts to kick their captor.

He allowed himself a small smirk before he threw Vanellope and Swizzle through the lab roof.

* * *

Jazz jumped as Vanellope and Swizzle burst through the floor next to her, landing hard against the wall.

"Vanellope! Swizzle!" Jazz cried.

Swizzle coughed as he and Vanellope climbed to their feet.

"We have to leave. Now." Swizzle said.

Suddenly, there was a massive roar and gravity gave way.

* * *

Jimmy opened his eyes. He, the Sugar Rush racers (besides Vanellope and Swizzle), Cinndon, Candace, Toxika, Damon, Crepe, Timmy, SpongeBob, Danny, Tak, and Dani had landed across the street from Fenton Works. They all got up and looked across the street.

"Gas Planet. I knew he wouldn't be that easy! We need to..." Jimmy started to say.

His jaw dropped. Before them, the very building was slowly lifting up out of it's foundations in a gust of upward wind. With a loud crash, the massive neon sign was torn from the wall, falling to the earth and shattering on the road. The Emergency Ops Centre was also ripped free of the building, which was slowly being ripped apart, brick by brick.

"We're going to need back-up." Gloyd said.

* * *

 _"Location: New York City, the Marvel Realm of the Dream World, July 11th 2109"_

Candi and Minty watched in shocked awe as the Empire State Building began to lift into the air, the glass windows ripping out and falling upwards like the flakes in a snowglobe. The spire snapped from the rest of the building and slowly disintegrated.

They were not the only ones. Down below, the city that never slept had come to a standstill as all eyes fell on the collapsing building... and the cloudy red vortex that was forming above it.

* * *

 _"Location: Amity Park, The World Of Nickelodeon, July 11th 2109"_

For a moment, Vanellope and Swizzle were lost in vertigo as they floated in the family room (although given that the walls were falling apart, the distinction probably didn't matter). When they finally regained their bearings, the walls had long collapsed, revealing the city outside.

"Von Schweetz, Malarkey, face me." a voice snarled.

Vanellope and Swizzle turned around. The Nightmare King was standing behind them, holding Jazz by the neck.

"Let her go. We're the ones that you want." Swizzle ordered, clenching his fists.

"Indeed. But her life is... irrelevant." the Nightmare King said.

Ectoplasmic fire covered his fist and he pulled it back, ready to swing it.

"Police!" a voice shouted.

Vanellope, Swizzle, Jazz, and the Nightmare King looked down. Several squad cars had arrived below them, and a dozen police officers had emerged. One of them, probably their leader, was holding a megaphone.

"Drop the girl and put your hands in the air!" the leader ordered.

The Nightmare King smirked.

"Very well, constable." the Nightmare King said.

He threw Jazz off to the side and raised his hands in a lifting motion. In a thunderous roar, the tarmac underneath the police officers and their cars was ripped upwards, and they too began to be pulled uncontrollably upwards. Swizzle wasted no time in flying after Jazz and reaching out to her. Jazz reached out, just managing to grab his arm in time for him to pull her away from being hit by one of the police cars. He pulled her close.

"Hang on." Swizzle instructed.

He flew back, grabbed Vanellope, and with a jolt, he flew forward, away from the destroyed Fenton Works.

* * *

 _"Location: New York City, New York, July 11th 2109"_

Charbonneau looked intently at a small tablet. On the screen, St. Basil's Cathedral was being lifted into the sky. Surrounding civilians and police watched in slack-jawed amazement and horror as the famous spires turned to dust before their eyes.

The scene changed to a panoramic view of the Forbidden Palace. The portrait on the gate was torn free and soared upwards, followed soon after by the gate itself. The bridge ahead of it began to tear itself up, one span at a time.

The scene changed again to a view of the modern boxy shape of New Parliament House. The Australian flag was ripped from it's pole, followed by the pole itself. Soil from the lawn raised into the sky like an upside-down rainstorm.

"Did we evacuate them in time?" Millard asked nervously.

"Mostly, yes. They didn't believe us when we said that it was ghosts, but they erred on the side of caution." Charbonneau replied. He then paused and said "On the other hand, I'm fairly certain that the Australian Parliament was in session, but they might have evacuated in time.".

"Sir! ETA five minutes on the Justice. Stand by for landing." the helicopter pilot announced.

* * *

 _"Location: Amity Park, The World Of Nickelodeon, July 11th 2109"_

Swizzle landed a few blocks away from Fenton Works, setting Vanellope and Jazz down gently. The three of them watched as the remains of Fenton Works, now little more then dusk, ascended into the vortex in the sky.

Then, quite suddenly, it exploded, and the sky was ripped open.

"Oh my gosh. He can't have." Jazz whispered.

"He has. He's ripped open a portal right above Amity Park." Swizzle said.

"But why? He already had mine." Jazz asked.

"Yeah, but it wasn't big enough." Vanellope replied grimly.

Out of the portal, descending slowly to the ground, came hundreds of the Nightmare King's soldiers.


	6. The Storm

**Chapter 6: The Storm**

 _"Location: New York City, New York, July 11th 2109"_

The Justice was an aircraft carrier, but not in the same sense as a normal carrier.

The pride of the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce (UNIT for short), the massive flying carrier had been built by the British Government by order of aspiring Prime Minister Harold Saxon. For reasons that are not important to this story, Saxon's term as PM was cut short a few days in, but the Justice remained in service as a mobile platform for UNIT scientific and military operations worldwide. She was also without a commander. Her commanding officer was out meeting officials in Washington DC, and her science officer, who would usually take command when the CO was away, had been attending a conference in New York.

It was for this reason that Colonel Charbonneau found himself in charge the moment that he stepped onto the deck of the flying ship.

"I'm surprised that you appointed me. I'm not a member of UNIT, after all." Charbonneau said as he walked to the bridge, escorted by a young and nervous officer called Major Tremblay.

"It's not exactly uncommon, sir. We take orders from non-UNIT fellows quite a lot around here." Tremblay explained.

The two men walked onto the bridge, encountering a man in a lab coat, whose back was turned.

"Here's the deputy head of the science team. Colonel, Doctor Domini McFlambe. Doctor, this is the commander of RERE." Tremblay introduced.

Dr. McFlame turned around and grinned.

"Marvellous! A pleasure, Colonel!" Dr. McFlambe exclaimed.

The Colonel blinked.

"When they said that they were leading me to the Doctor, I thought they were talking about someone else." Charbonneau muttered. He then shook his head and said "Never mind. Doctor, I need your men to do three things for me.".

"Name them, good sir." Dr. McFlambe said.

"Number one, I need to set up lab facilities somewhere on this ship. Number two, I need immediate contact established with Director Fury and SHIELD, as well as any other secret organizations that you can patch in. And number three, set a course for Amity Park." Charbonneau said.

* * *

 _"Location: New York City, the Marvel Realm of the Dream World, July 11th 2109"_

"Well, we're doomed." Candi said, looking up at the vast army descending from the sky.

"We're not totally doomed. I mean, there... there's a lot of them, but..." Minty started to say nervously.

There was a loud slam, and the both of them jumped. The ghost of an eighteenth century gentleman, short in stature and dressed in an immaculate blue-and-white uniform, had been slammed with great force into the concrete roof. He was complaining loudly at his assailant, who was a robotic figure that was walking slowly towards him, fists clenched.

"Do you know who I am? I am Frederick the Great, King of the Prussians! Unhand me, you metallic we-ouch-ouch-ouch-ouch!" the ghost thundered.

The robot had picked him up by the arm.

"Where is my mother?" the robot asked angrily.

"I have no idea, you strange creature! I don't even know who you are! Now unhand me or I will have you..." Frederick started to reply.

"Hey, Jeremy." Candi greeted, waving casually.

Jeremy looked over to them, finally noticing that they were there.

"Candi, Minty! What are you doing here?" Jeremy asked brightly, waving and inadvertently throwing Frederick away with great force.

"Looking for you. It's good to see you again!" Minty replied.

Candi nodded and pulled her portal key out of her pocket.

"Yep. Now let's go home. We need..." Candi started to say.

She suddenly frowned.

"My portal key is dead. Great. Just great." Candi muttered.

She sighed heavily and put it back in her pocket.

"So, now that we're stuck here, what are you doing here?" Candi asked.

"I work here." Jeremy replied, crossing his arms.

Candi blinked.

"You got a job?" Candi asked.

"Sort of. It's more like an arrangement, actually. Come on, I'll show you." Jeremy replied.

He walked back towards the building's roof access. Candi and Minty glanced at each other, shrugged, and followed.

* * *

 _"Location: Amity Park, The World Of Nickelodeon, July 11th 2109"_

"So we built a cordon around Fenton Works, they rolled over it. We made a second cordon, they rolled over that. Long story short, we've lost half the neighborhood to them, and we have no idea how to stop them." the chief of the Amity Park Police explained.

Vlad sat at his desk, his head in his hands. The distant wail of an air-raid siren rang in his ears, as did the dull pounding of explosions. Around him, Damon Grey was leaning against the wall and tapping on a phone, while Agent Coulson stared out the window, his arms crossed.

"Thank you, chief. And the evacuation?" Vlad asked.

"The shadows are making it near impossible to get helicopters into the area. We're telling people to take shelter in bigger and stronger buildings... Axion Labs, Casper High, places like that. We're also trying to bus people out." Damon replied.

Vlad nodded.

"Well, gentlemen, if you'll excuse me, I need to make a call. I'll be right back." Vlad said, standing up and walking to the door.

He shut the door behind him. Damon sighed and flipped the phone shut.

"I still can't get her." Damon said.

"Get who?" Coulson asked.

"My daughter. I've got a gut feeling that she's in that mess, somewhere." Damon replied.

"We'll all be, soon enough." Coulson said, grimly.

* * *

Vanellope, Swizzle, and Jazz had managed to find the Sugar Rush racers, Cinndon, Candace, Toxika, Damon, Crepe, Jimmy, Timmy, SpongeBob, Danny, Tak, and Dani huddled behind the counter of a now gutted grocery store, a few blocks from Fenton Works. They were not alone because Sam, Tucker, and Valerie had arrived not long after them.

"Alright, so I was wrong about him being a pushover." Swizzle admitted.

"You think?" Timmy asked angrily.

"Yeah. We need a plan. Do any of you have any ideas?" Swizzle asked.

"We tried calling Gizmo, but he wouldn't pick up." Candlehead replied.

"Candi's portal key has gone offline, and SpongeBob is starting to act up." Taffyta added.

There was a flash from Spongebob's pocket. A portal opened and Patrick fell out, landing with a loud thud on the tiled floor. He looked rather bewildered and was holding a half-eaten Krabby Patty in his hands.

"Hey, SpongeBob. Are we having a party?" Patrick asked.

Sam turned to Vanellope.

"You think the portal might be messing with them?" Sam asked.

"Probably, which means that if we need back-up, we have to call it now." Vanellope replied.

"Do it. We'll work out something when everybody's here." Valerie said.

Tucker smirked.

"No need. I got an idea." Tucker said.

Jimmy grinned and pulled out his recaller.

"Alright then. Nicktoons and Sugar Rush, unite!" Jimmy said.

There was a long silence.

"Seriously?" Taffyta asked, incredulously.

Jimmy sighed and pressed a button.

* * *

 _"Location: Richmond, Virginia, July 11th 2109"_

Nell and Destiny were sitting at a picnic table in the city park in Richmond.

"So, we helped the princess, queen, and their team save time, and then we got these cool portal keys. Does that mean we have to be ready to save the world at short notice?" Nell asked.

There was a sudden flash of light and a green portal opened next to them.

"Yep." Nell replied.

They jumped up and leaped into the portal.

* * *

 _"Location: San Fransokyo, The World Of Disney, July 11th 2109"_

Hiro, Akari, GoGo, Honey Lemon, Wasabi, Fred, and Baymax were in the backyard of Fred's house, preparing to practice their various skills. Suddenly, a portal opened next to them.

"Well, this sure beats practice." Honey Lemon said, grinning.

Baymax contacted Cass, Callaghan, Abigail, Alistair, and Yama. Once they arrived, they, Hiro, Akari, GoGo, Honey Lemon, Wasabi, Fred, and Baymax jumped into the portal.

* * *

 _"Location: Retroville, The World Of Nickelodeon, July 11th 2109"_

Carl and Sheen were sitting in Jimmy's lab, eating corn chips and watching Ultralord. A portal opened next to them, and Sheen jumped up.

"Jimmy's hour of need is here! Come on, Carl!" Sheen exclaimed.

"But I don't want to…" Carl started to say.

Before Carl could finish speaking, Sheen dragged him by the arm into the portal.

* * *

 _"Location: Amity Park, The World Of Nickelodeon, July 11th 2109"_

A series of portals opened up around the group. Nell, Destiny, Hiro, Akari, GoGo, Honey Lemon, Wasabi, Fred, Baymax, Cass, Callaghan, Abigail, Alistair, Yama, Carl, and Sheen emerged, each taking up a suitably epic pose on appearance (except Carl, who tripped and fell on his face). They weren't the only ones, however. More portals appeared and the remaining Disney Characters and Nickelodeon Characters appeared.

"What do you need us for, guys?" Simba asked.

"We have a plan!" Tucker replied, dramatically.

There was a long pause.

"Just letting you know, it's not a good plan, though." Snowanna said.

"It's still a plan." Tucker said, firmly.

* * *

 _"Location: New York City, the Marvel Realm of the Dream World, July 11th 2109"_

"So, we just need to go through here and... what are you doing here?" Jeremy asked.

He stopped and aimed a rocket at two familiar agents that were climbing up the elevator shaft. Both of them were exhausted.

"It's okay. We know these guys." Candi replied.

"Anders and Hux, CIA. I am giving you a federal order to put a ladder in that thing." Gizmo introduced, weakly pulling himself onto firm ground.

He collapsed onto the hallway carpet, wheezing heavily. Just then, there was a quiet ding as an automatic door opened and a figure emerged. Jeremy waved at the figure, and Candi and Minty's jaws both dropped.

"Well, this isn't the strangest thing that I've ever seen around here." Tony Stark said.


	7. The Plan

**Chapter 7: The Plan**

 _"Location: Amity Park, The World Of Nickelodeon, July 11th 2109"_

 _"Live from Amity Park, I'm Lance Thunder."_ Lance introduced.

The long-suffering Amity Park weatherman was on the television, standing in front of what looked like the Manson's house. Behind him, a column of white armored vehicles rolled by, all marked 'GIW'.

 _"Behind me, you can see the Guys in White moving in to take on the invading ghost army. I'm standing with a couple of GIW agents now. Operatives K and O, what do you have to say about the crisis?"_ Lance asked.

The camera turned to the two agents, who were looking impassively towards the camera.

 _"The situation is completely under control."_ K replied.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash as a GIW helicopter collided with the upper floor of the Manson house and exploded.

 _"That was unmanned."_ O blurted.

 _"We are moving into the city under Operation: EAGLE HAWK. We'll hit them hard and fast from all directions in conjunction with the military. We're coming down Maple and..."_ K started to explain.

"Are you kidding me?" Vanellope asked.

"What? What's happening?" John Darling asked, leaning over Vanellope's shoulder.

"He's blurting out his entire plan on live television." Vanellope replied, exasperatedly.

They and everyone else were gathered on the roof of the grocery store. Vanellope was watching an old portable TV that somebody had abandoned in the store. She shook her head.

"Okay, let's go over the plan again." Vanellope said.

She walked over to the side of the building and looked down. Valerie, Nell, Gaston, Kocoum, Carl, and Violet were hiding in the building, waiting.

"Valerie's team will ambush the Nightmare King's troops when they come through. Once they get identified, the Nightmare King will think that Swizzle and I are with them and send everything their way." Vanellope explained.

"And we want that, why?" Tak asked, scratching his head.

"It'll draw them away from Swizzle's team. Their taking the alley road to Axion Labs. P.I.X.A.L. caught word that their gathering ghost hunters and volunteers over there, and we could use their help. Just in case they get held up, we're going to be taking the high road, over the rooftops." Vanellope replied.

"So here's hoping you can jump." Kandle said.

"Most of the buildings here are tightly packed. And if worse comes to worse, I can use my glitch to bring us over in groups." Vanellope explained.

"Great! What could g..." Mushu started to ask.

Mulan grabbed his mouth and forced it shut.

"Okay, let's get going. Good luck, everyone." Vanellope said.

* * *

Valerie crouched under the grocery window, breathing as quietly as she could. Next to her, a nervous Carl stood next to a pile of Purple Flurp cans, shaking one nervously.

"Are you sure that those are going to work?" Valerie asked.

"Oh, these things dissolve anything. Just look at Sheen's molars." Carl replied.

"Yeah, I'll take your word for it." Valerie said, wincing.

Outside, she heard the sound of marching. The Nightmare King's soldiers had arrived.

"Okay, on my mark. Three... two... one... MARK!" Valerie said.

She jumped out of cover and started firing her wrist blaster at the lead soldiers in the column, knocking them to the ground. Carl launched into a nerdy equivalent of a war cry and hurled the can of Flurp. It fell disappointingly short, but for some reason, it exploded and sprayed the ghost troops with the acidic beverage.

Across the road, Gaston took out his rifle. He aimed at the soldiers, who were now starting to look for the perpetrators of the ambush. He pulled the trigger, but instead of shooting bullets, the rifle shot a volley of laser beams into several of the ghosts.

Nell leaped out of the window (the glass was already broken) and ran at one of the soldiers. She leaped into the air, opened her mouth, and bit into his shoulder. She then fell to the ground, clutching her teeth and lamenting her poor choice of attack. That move, however, provided Kocoum with the distraction that he needed to jump into the street, perform a roll, and then use his Tomahawk on the soldiers that he came in contact with. And Violet shot forcefield balls at the soldiers that she came across.

The remaining soldiers, having lost all sense of cohesion, broke and ran. Without a word, Valerie and Carl high-fived.

* * *

 _"Location: New York City, the Marvel Realm of the Dream World, July 11th 2109"_

"Here's what we know." Gizmo said.

Gizmo placed a folder on the counter of Tony's penthouse. There had been a brief pause for Candi, Minty, Gizmo, and Monty to explain why they were there before they had gotten to business on dealing with their current Nightmare King problem.

"The Nightmare King's soldiers are completely immune to standard weapons and ammunition. However, they lack independent thought, their regimented to a fault, and their tactics are frankly Napoleonic." Gizmo explained.

"So we're basically fighting ultra-durable redcoats?" Candi asked.

"Good way of putting it. Knock out their leaders or break up their formations, and they'll run. The shadows are more of a problem." Gizmo replied.

"Shadows? Didn't the Man in the Black Suit have those?" Jeremy asked.

"Don't remind me." Minty replied, shuddering.

"Yep, and these are about the same things. Very dangerous and immune to physical attacks, but they are weak against electricity and light-based attacks." Gizmo explained.

"Like lasers?" Candi asked.

Gizmo nodded.

"Like lasers. But the main thing is that you guys need to get back to Amity Park." Gizmo replied.

"But the Nightmare King is here, isn't he?" Minty asked.

Gizmo shook his head.

"Do you have a TV, Mr. Stark?" Gizmo asked.

"What channel?" Tony asked.

"629, Amity Park News." Gizmo replied.

"JARVIS, you heard him." Tony said.

 _"You couldn't invent a remote, sir?"_ JARVIS asked.

Nevertheless, a holographic screen appeared before them. Lance Thunder was on screen, wrapping up his interview with the Guys in White and trying to ignore the wrecked Manson manor behind him.

 _"And that was Operatives O and K from the Guys in White. Now, the studio's just told me that evacuation centers are being moved. We can no longer guarantee a safe exit from Casper High. City Hall is being threatened and evacuees there are being bussed to Axion and Elmerton."_ Lance reported.

"Amity." Minty whispered, horrified.

"Not just that. Switch to BBC America." Gizmo instructed.

The channel changed to a man in a slightly ragged suit, standing on a bridge. Camouflaged vehicles were ferrying soldiers across a lake towards a small neighborhood backed by a man-made hill, much of which was on fire. Night had fallen, but the background fires lit the sky in an ominous red.

 _"Standing on Northbourne Avenue. Behind me you can see British soldiers moving in to deal with the ghost invasion, a scene being repeated as we speak in New York, Moscow, and Beijing. The Governor-General has declared a state of emergency and taken over control of the situation until the status of Parliament can be confirmed. He addressed the media from his temporary seat of government at the airport, calling for national unity in the face of a 'global and existential threat'."_ the man reported.

"Destroyer of worlds." Candi whispered, remembering Zwarte Pete's words.

There was a long silence.

"So, how are we getting to Amity Park? Because I have a supersonic flying suit of armor, but you can't use it." Tony asked.

"I know a guy." Gizmo replied.

* * *

 _"Location: Amity Park, The World Of Nickelodeon, July 11th 2109"_

"Sir!" a voice shouted.

Napoleon rolled his eyes as Crocker ran up to him. He had been having a nice think, here in the wreckage of the Fenton's garden, but this jumped-up school teacher had had to ruin it.

"Oui?" Napoleon asked.

"One of our units was ambushed. It might have been Von Schweetz and Malarkey! What do we do?" Crocker asked.

"Where?" Napoleon asked.

Crocker pointed to the west. Napoleon nodded.

"Monsieur Crocker, your a teacher, aren't you? Do you know what I was before I was an emperor? Before I was a general?" Napoleon asked.

Crocker blinked.

"A Corsican?" Crocker asked.

"An artilleryman." Napoleon replied, smirking.

He raised his hands into the sky. Slowly, one by one, glowing meteors began to descend from the sky above.

* * *

Vanellope finished climbing a ladder, joining the rest of her group at the top of a building. She took a second to catch her breath before looking towards their next obstacle. The next building was separated from them by a small alleyway, but it looked jumpable.

"Alright, jump or glitch?" Vanellope asked.

Suddenly, there was a massive bang, and she was knocked off her feet. For a few seconds, she laid dazed on the concrete roof before she was dragged to her feet by Anna.

"We have to run! Their throwing meteors at us!" Anna yelled over the rising racket of explosions.

Vanellope nodded, dusted herself off, and readied herself.

"Glitch?" Pinocchio asked.

"No time. Jump!" Vanellope replied.

The other Disney Characters and Nickelodeon Characters nodded and made their way across. Once they were across, Vanellope ran for the gap, closed her eyes, and jumped. For a moment, her heart stopped, but then it began to race as she realized that she had made it to the other side. She opened her eyes and turned around. Everyone else had crossed, but Candlehead and Bing Bong were still on the other side.

"Candlehead, come on! You can do it. I'll be right behind you." Bing Bong said reassuringly.

There was another bang, and the building shook. It began to lean backwards.

"Go!" Vanellope thundered.

Candlehead, deciding that standing on a collapsing building was even more dangerous then attempting to jump, grabbed Bing Bong's hand and bolted towards the gap. She jumped, just as the roof gave way. Suddenly, everything seemed to play out in slow motion. Vanellope could almost see the arc of their jump in her head.

 _"Their not going to make it."_ Vanellope thought with realization.

She leaned over the gap, reaching out a hand. Candlehead reached back, stretching out as far as she could.

She missed by inches.

Vanellope jolted back as Rancis pulled her away by the collar. Before her, the building collapsed in a pile of rubble, coating her in a layer of dust. She could just hear the sound of a radio as the meteors died away.

 _"Valerie here. Sorry, we had to run. Where are you guys? What was that noice?"_ Valerie's voice asked.

 _"Swizzle here. We're a few blocks away. We just saw the meteors. Are you guys okay? Vanellope?"_ Swizzle's voice asked.

"Candlehead." Vanellope whispered in horror.

She shook her head numbly, her face pale.

"They-They could be alright. I mean, we've been through worse." Rancis said nervously.

Vanellope said nothing. Instead, she turned around and walked away as if in a dream.

* * *

Bing Bong opened his eyes and rubbed his head. He looked to his left side and saw Candlehead laying next to him.

"Ugh... well, that was horrible." Bing Bong said.

He and Candlehead got up, and the two of them looked around. They were now stuck inside of a small cavern of debris. He looked up, whistling at the site of a large concrete slab above them.

"You think that thing saved our lives?" Bing Bong asked.

"Yep." Candlehead replied.

They looked around again.

"But we have a problem. We're trapped." Bing Bong said.


	8. The Divide

**Chapter 8: The Divide**

Vanellope sat on a small crate atop a building, looking at her feet. Rancis sat next to her, a hand on her shoulder.

"I can't believe their gone." Vanellope muttered.

"Maybe their okay. I mean, we could try radioing them..." Rancis started to say, hopefully.

"There was so much I wanted to say. So much I never got the chance to ask." Vanellope said. She sighed and said "I think I'm going to miss her laugh most.".

A somewhat staticky laugh emerged from Vanellope's skirt's pocket.

"I can still hear it in my head." Vanellope said.

 _"Candlehead to Vanellope, are you there?"_ a voice asked.

Vanellope's gaze slowly turned to her skirt's pocket. She grabbed the radio (an old boxy one from the grocery store) and spoke into it.

"Candlehead, your alive!" Vanellope said happily.

"I told you to try the radio." Rancis said.

 _"Yep! I mean, we're stuck, but we're still alive!"_ Candlehead explained.

Vanellope nodded and stood up.

"Alright, we need to get you out of there. Do you see anything that you can use down there? Like a shovel or something?" Vanellope asked.

There was a long pause.

 _"Um, I think we found a manhole."_ Candlehead replied.

"Climb down that. I don't have a map of the sewers, but if you head south, you should find an exit away from the Nightmare King's forces." Vanellope instructed.

 _"Got it, Vanellope... which way is south?"_ Candlehead asked.

There was another brief pause as Vanellope pinched the bridge of her nose.

 _"Never mind, Bing Bong says he knows which way."_ Candlehead said.

"We'll meet you at Axion Labs... hopefully. Good luck." Vanellope said.

The radio emitted a high-pitched whine, and Candlehead trailed out.

"Candlehead! Something's jamming the signal! Ugh, I wish we could still use the portal keys." Vanellope said.

She grabbed the dial and began to twist it.

 _"Secure channel alpha, this is the Justice. If you are receiving this message, head to North Maple. A RERE helicopter is on it's way. Colonel Charbonneau requests information on the location of any of the following: Malarkey, Swizzle – Von Schweetz, Vanellope – Muttonfudge, Taffyta..."_ a voice started to say.

Vanellope raised an eyebrow.

"So, who wants to bet that these guys are connected to Gizmo?" Vanellope asked.

* * *

"Radio's dropped out." P.I.X.A.L. announced.

She, Swizzle, Jubileena, Danny, Sam, Tucker, and McLeach were hiding behind a collapsed wall, watching a column of the Nightmare King's troops march by. They were followed by large rusty tanks with very large cannons.

"Their probably headed for Axion Labs. We might have some problems." Sam whispered.

"Yeah, we'll need to deal with those." Swizzle said.

There was a long pause.

"So... does anybody have any ideas?" Tucker asked.

"Tucker, if any of us had an idea, we wouldn't be hiding right now." McLeach replied.

"Point taken." Tucker said.

Danny shook his head.

"Come on. I know a short cut to the Labs." Danny said.

* * *

 _"Location: New York City, the Marvel Realm of the Dream World, July 11th 2109"_

"Charbonneau, this is Anders. We're going to need pickup. I have Stark, Owens, and Zaki... what do you mean, you can't send anything? SHIELD... fine, they'll do..." Gizmo said into his phone.

Candi, Minty, and Jeremy were standing next to the window, looking out over the city. Save for the dim sounds of fighting and the absence of the Empire State Building, the city looked almost calm and serene in the late-afternoon sun.

"So, you work for Iron Man." Candi asked.

"Sort of. After I left you guys after that whole Man in the Black Suit thing, I thought I could find my mom by asking all of the main robotics scientists. It didn't work, but I met a guy in a place in England at the Bracewell Institute or something. Let's just say that you've met him." Jeremy replied.

There was a long pause.

"Wait, McFlambe?" Minty asked.

Jeremy nodded.

"Yep. He got a job in some kind of UN thing, but he couldn't say what. But he could give me a file from the CIA." Jeremy replied.

"Let me guess. He wrote it?" Candi asked, pointing at Gizmo, who was still on the phone and arguing about something or another.

"Nope, but he signed it. Most of it was about testing something called the Tairseach, but they also mentioned a report into mom's disappearance. They think she was kidnapped by an agent of the Man in the Black Suit." Jeremy replied.

"So why didn't we find her after we beat him?" Candi asked.

Jeremy shrugged.

"I don't know. If she was captured in his realm, she should have gotten out after Vanellope unlocked the box... I think the Nightmare King has something to..." Jeremy started to reply.

"And done." Gizmo said, hanging up the phone. He turned to everyone and started to say "Alright, I've managed to get us a Quinjet. It'll be here in half-an-hour. Mr. Stark, if there's anything you need, grab it now. The rest of you, pack up and be on the roof in...".

"Gizmo, was that phone line secured?" Monty asked.

The group slowly looked out the window. A cloud of shadows was barreling through the sky towards them.

"Ah cr..." Gizmo started to reply.

The window imploded. Everything seemed to play out in slow-motion as Candi held out her arms, vaguely noticing the shape of one of the agents flying backwards into the wall. She fired blasts of molten caramel, eyes closed and screaming incoherently. She heard the hum of electricity flowing and a series of loud blasts, followed by a series of splattering sounds. When she opened her eyes, the wind was blowing against her and the penthouse was covered in black gunk.

"Well, that was awesome." Candi said.

She turned around. Minty was standing next to her, and Gizmo was leaning over Monty, who was sitting dazedly on the floor. She couldn't see Tony.

"What happened?" Candi asked.

"I can't tell, but I think he's busted his leg. I've got no idea where Stark went, but..." Gizmo started to reply.

There was a loud crash as Tony, fully clad in his red-and-gold armored suit, soared out from the left wall and into the sky, thundering towards a second wave of shadows.

"Never mind, there he is." Gizmo said.

Just then, a column of ghost soldiers floated up to the window, a woman in an ornate sixteenth century dress in front of them.

"Gentlemen." the woman sneered.

"Elizabeth Bathory. I remember you." Minty snarled.

"Minty Zaki! It's been too long!" Bathory exclaimed.

"You two know each other?" Candi asked in confusion.

"Time traveling incident. You know how it is." Minty replied.

Bathory pointed at the group.

"Soldiers, destroy them!" Bathory ordered, pointing at the group.

The soldiers marched into the room, switching from their ghostly rifles to green organic-looking war clubs. Candi narrowed her eyes and ran towards the front rank of the soldiers. She jumped up and formed a large spiked caramel hammer, which she grabbed and swung into one of the soldiers. Gizmo took out a pistol and fired a few shots at a couple of soldiers in front of him. Another soldier tried to grab him from behind, but Gizmo backhanded him with his elbow before launching into a spin-kick and pushing him away. The soldier was thrown towards Minty, who grabbed him and threw him out the window. She then did a back-flip, landed on another soldier's shoulders, and punched him in the back of the head, knocking him out. One of his friends turned around and lifted his club, aiming to hit her. He was promptly blocked by Jeremy's arm, who then followed by uppercutting him. Wasting no time, he activated his jets and soared out the window, grabbing two soldiers by their collars on the way out. He then hurled both, one at a time, towards Tony. He met both of the soldiers hurled at him with fists, before firing his repulsers at a trio of oncoming shadows. Dealing with them, he rocketed back to the penthouse window and grabbed Bathory by the arm. Bathory smirked at him.

"Come on. You wouldn't attack a lady, would you?" Bathory asked, innocently.

"Yeah, undead possible-vampires aren't really my type." Tony replied.

He hurled her away from the window before lowering himself back into the penthouse and making a show of dusting himself off.

"Well, that went well." Tony said.

 _"You might be a little premature, sir. Further Nightmare King forces are inbound. They seem to be led by Frederick the Great."_ JARVIS announced.

"When does the Quinjet get here?" Jeremy asked.

 _"Ten minutes, sir."_ JARVIS replied.

Gizmo nodded.

"Grab Hux and head to the roof. I've got an idea to distract them." Gizmo ordered.

"What kind of idea?" Candi asked, suspiciously.

"A stupid one. Now go." Gizmo replied.

Candi noticed the phone in his hand as everyone else began to leave.

"You do realize that they hear everything we say on that, right?" Candi asked.

"That's the idea. Don't wait up, princess." Gizmo replied.

Candi nodded.

"Good luck, Gizmo." Candi said.

She followed the others out the door. Gizmo looked out the door and sighed before putting the phone up to his ear.

"This is Agent Anders calling HQ. I have Von Schweetz and Malarkey. I'm moving to the parking lot for evacuation." Gizmo announced.


	9. The Fall

**Chapter 9: The Fall**

 _"Location: Amity Park, The World Of Nickelodeon, July 11th 2109"_

The block outside Axion Labs was crowded, but the crowd was thinning. With the Nightmare King's army closing in on the area, civilians were being bused out again to the city limits. That left a gathering of amateur ghost hunters, the Guys in White, and a couple of squads of marines.

Swizzle, Jubileena, P.I.X.A.L. Danny, Sam, Tucker, and McLeach watched the assemble from behind a dumpster on the other side of the open block.

"Look, I know we need the help. But are you sure that walking straight up to every ghost hunter in town in a time like this is a good idea?" Jubileena asked.

"No, not really. But we don't have any other options. Come on." Danny replied.

He stood up and walked into the open area.

"Freeze!" a voice yelled.

In about two seconds flat, half of the Guys in White and a few other ghost hunters had surrounded them, weapons drawn. Danny waved pathetically.

"Yeah, hi. Look, I know that you guys have problems with ghosts and all that, but, uh, maybe we could, um, put our differences aside to..." Danny started to say nervously.

"Danny, stop. Your embarrassing yourself." Swizzle said.

"Right, sorry." Danny said.

McLeach sighed and walked to the front of the group.

"Listen, I know your ghost hunters, and I know that Danny's a ghost. But you need to look beyond that. Right now, the Nightmare King is tearing us apart, and we need to stand together if we're to have a hope of stopping him. We need to forget about humans and ghosts, we need to forget about all our differences, and we need to unite as one." McLeach said. The poacher then raised his fist and asked "Now who's with me?".

The Guys in White cocked their weapons.

"Well, I tried." McLeach muttered.

Operative K looked at Swizzle.

"Swizzle Malarkey, you are under arrest for collusion with an enemy of the United States!" K snapped.

"I told you, me and Vanellope are not working for the Nightmare King!" Swizzle shouted.

"Theft, vigilantism, vandalism, and flying in a no-fly zone. You have the right to remain silent..." K started to say, ignoring Swizzle's protest.

"INCOMING!" a voice yelled.

There was a loud crash as a large tan battle tank slammed into the pavement, the turret torn off on impact. Seconds later, two more tanks were thrown over the buildings to the left of them, one of them slamming into a GIW jeep. K and O wordlessly turned to a marine sergeant, who was gazing grimly at the tanks.

"Hoffmann, what was that?" K asked.

"Those tanks were guarding our perimeter, sir. In due respect, I think that Eagle Hawk might be..." Hoffmann started to reply.

At that moment, six massive ghost tanks rolled into the open area and everything went wrong. The Guys in White and their allies turned to face the tanks, while Swizzle ran for the Ghost Assault Vehicle, which was parked outside Axion. Jubileena, P.I.X.A.L. Danny, Sam, Tucker, and McLeach ran after him.

"Where are you going?" Tucker asked, muffled somewhat by an explosion caused by one of the tanks.

"The RV! There's got to be something to stop the tanks in..." Swizzle started to reply.

Before Swizzle could finish speaking, there was a sudden explosion. He was caught on the edge of it and blown forward, crashing face-first into the pavement. Somebody called his name, but he couldn't tell who. His ears rang as he pulled himself off the pavement. His vision swam, and he could see a trace of stained red underneath him. He saw a muted explosion and what looked like the Ghost Assault Vehicle flipping into the air. He tried to fly, but failed, and he instead elected to run deliriously away from where he thought the tanks would be. He never noticed Jubileena, P.I.X.A.L. Danny, Sam, Tucker, and McLeach behind him.

* * *

 _"Location: New York City, the Marvel Realm of the Dream World, July 11th 2109"_

"Oh, now the elevators work." Gizmo muttered.

He stood in one of Stark Tower's elevators, heading for the parking lot. He stared into the mirror at his reflection. He was very much worse for wear. One of his suit sleeves had been torn off, his tie was loose and his top button was undone, and he seemed to have managed to pick up a black eye.

If the director could see him now, he'd probably be dead. His part of the Agency always were sticklers for cleanliness.

Gizmo's plan was quite simple. He would get to the parking lot, drop Stark's phone there, and then leave the Nightmare King's men to scratch their heads about it. He'd then slip through Manhattan, find an evacuation center, and hopefully get back to the Justice before anyone missed him. Simple, easy, and nobody had to get hurt.

Then the elevator doors open, and Gizmo found himself standing in front of the Nightmare King himself. The ghost stood on the opposite side of the underground parking lot, his arms crossed.

"Where are Von Schweetz and Malarkey?" the Nightmare King asked.

Gizmo stepped cautiously out of the elevator, dropping the phone.

"Repeat the question?" Gizmo asked, trying to stop himself from shaking.

"Where. Are. Von Schweetz and Malarkey?" the Nightmare King asked.

Gizmo looked around the parking lot, trying to stall for time.

"Yeah, yeah, before we do that, how did you get to here from Amity so fast?" Gizmo asked.

"If you must know, I can fly. Additionally, the portals allow me to quickly get from one of my conquests to another... and your stalling, aren't you?" the Nightmare King asked.

 _"There's no way out of this."_ Gizmo thought.

At that realization, Gizmo's fear seemed to vanish, replaced by a strange calm.

"Who are you, human?" the Nightmare King asked.

Gizmo pulled out his badge.

"Agent Gizmo Anders, CIA, Temporal Division." Gizmo replied.

"Where are Von Schweetz and Malarkey, Gizmo Anders?" the Nightmare King asked again.

Gizmo smirked.

"Nightmare King, I have absolutely no idea." Gizmo replied.

There was a long silence.

"Then this was a ruse. The kids aren't in this city, are they?" the Nightmare King asked.

"You don't know where they are? Well, some all-powerful conqueror you are." Gizmo replied.

"I have many powers. Omniscience isn't one of them." the Nightmare King explained.

He looked down at Gizmo.

"Surely, Gizmo Anders, you didn't come down here expecting to defeat me?" the Nightmare King asked.

"Honestly, I didn't come down here expecting to see you at all. But I can slow you down." Gizmo replied.

The Nightmare King lit his fists with ectoplasmic fire.

"Well then, by all means, slow me down." the Nightmare King said sarcastically.

Gizmo reached into his jacket and pulled out his pistol.

"With pleasure, Nightmare King." Gizmo said.

* * *

The SHIELD Quinjet had landed on the roof of Stark Tower, and a couple of agents were escorting the group into the large aircraft. Suddenly, over the sound of the jet engines, Candi could just about hear a series of loud bangs from far below, followed by a roaring jet of flame.

"What was that?" one of the SHIELD agents asked.

"Nothing, come on." the second SHIELD agent replied.

"Oh, Gizmo." Candi whispered, looking at her feet.

* * *

The Nightmare King turned away from the wreckage of the elevator and began to walk away.

"You know what your problem is?" a voice asked weakly.

The Nightmare King turned back to the elevator, where he could just see Gizmo feebly leaning out from beneath one of the doors.

"You come to our world, and the first thing that you do is threaten us." Gizmo said in a raspy voice.

"Your civilization is weak. Your cities are..." the Nightmare King started to say.

"You see, that's the thing. You see humanity as cities and history and civilization, but we're not like that. Your threatening our homes, our friends, and our families, and you expect us to just lie down because your more powerful then us?" Gizmo asked. He chuckled hoarsely and said "You don't know anything about humanity, Nightmare King.".

The Nightmare King leaned down over Gizmo.

"You can be saved from destruction. I can offer you a place in my army, marching at the side of the greatest soldiers ever known. I can give you immortality, Gizmo Anders. What do you say?" the Nightmare King asked.

Gizmo paused for a moment, as if in thought. He then laughed right in the Nightmare King's face.

"Join you? You want me to join you? Ha... you can rot." Gizmo replied weakly.

He closed his eyes and his head fell back.

* * *

On the top of the tower, the Quinjet lifted off, flying away in the light of the setting sun. Down below, the police and army were beginning to retreat because the Dream World Manhattan Island was falling. It was a scene that was being repeated in Moscow, Beijing, and Canberra in the real world, and Amity Park in The World Of Nickelodeon. The Nightmare King's army was just too strong and too large, and there was little that could be done against them.

* * *

 _"Location: Amity Park, The World Of Nickelodeon, July 11th 2109"_

In Amity Park, Swizzle had run as far as a hill in Casper Park before he collapsed from exhaustion. He laid against a tree, looking over the wreckage of what was once downtown Amity Park. He buried his head in his hands.

"We can't stop him. We just... can't stop him." Swizzle muttered.

"No, you can't." a voice said.

Swizzle looked up, and his eyes widened at a slightly transparent figure in front of him.

"No... no, it can't be." Swizzle said in shock.

"But it is, Mr. Malarkey. I believe that it's time for a heart-to-heart." the Man in the Black Suit said.


	10. The Game Changes

**Chapter 10: The Game Changes**

Swizzle stood up, pointing at the Man in the Black Suit.

"Y-You can't be here! You got banished!" Swizzle exclaimed.

"Yes, that was quite a setback." the Man in the Black Suit said angrily. He crossed his arms and explained "I cannot sustain a corporeal form in your dimension, but I can project myself, with some effort.".

"Why are you here?" Swizzle asked.

"To explain. To clarify your connection with the Nightmare King. Sit down, Mr. Malarkey. You may not like what you hear." the Man in the Black Suit replied.

* * *

 _In his time, he was known as Anthony. In death, he was always simply 'the Nightmare King'._

 _At the height of Augustus's empire, he was the finest of the emperor's generals. All before him was wiped away. He was fiercely loyal, and had even sworn an oath that he would never betray Octavian._

 _Then he found out about the prophecy._

 _An ancient text had foreseen the rise of the Nightmare King, of an apocalyptic threat destined to destroy humanity and bring him to his rightful place as ruler of all the multiverse. It spoke of armies descending from the sky, and of the towers of man torn asunder by great winds. It was a warning of apocalypse, grand in scope, not simply of man, but of all mortality. Octavian saw it as a threat to his reign, and he immediately declared the Nightmare King an outlaw and ordered his remaining generals to arrest him. Unfortunately, the majority of the army was loyal to the Nightmare King and deserted with him, deep into the heart of another dimension, a void known only as the Hall of Souls. And there he would stay for two thousand years, building his forces._

 _But his betrayal was not with punishment. Octavian made a vow to his kingdom, designed to prevent the Nightmare King from taking the throne. He proclaimed that lordship over the Roman Empire could only be won by trial of combat... and at this point, the Nightmare King was weak because he didn't have most of his powers yet. The years passed, and eventually, the Roman Empire came to an end in 476 AD._

 _Meanwhile, the Nightmare King waited in the Hall of Souls. He did nothing but train for two thousand years, waiting for his time to strike._

* * *

"Which brings us to now." the Man in the Black Suit said.

"So, what, he wants the throne? Wouldn't he have to go after the Italian government?" Swizzle asked.

"And therein lies his problem. For you see, the Roman Empire has since been split up for the past 1,633 years. And you and Vanellope have great power in you and can potentially conquer the multiverse if you wanted." the Man in the Black Suit replied.

"So, what, he has to kill me and Vanellope to supposedly get 'the crown'?" Swizzle asked.

"Or permanently incapacitate you two. The rule is not particularly clear on that." the Man in the Black Suit replied.

Swizzle sighed.

"So, what do I do?" Swizzle asked.

"Isn't it obvious, Mr. Malarkey? You and Vanellope change the rules." the Man in the Black Suit replied.

* * *

"You know, I've just realized that I don't think I've ever changed my shoes." Candlehead said.

She and Bing Bong were wading through ankle-deep sewerage in an attempt to get to Axion Labs. Unfortunately, the lack of a compass or any visible landmarks meant that they had gotten very, very lost.

"Any particular reason that you decided to tell me that?" Bing Bong asked, slightly irritably.

"Nah, it just struck me." Candlehead replied.

Just then, a voice echoed from down the tunnel.

"Every time... every time Plasmius drags you out here, you still fail to get the dipstick! I mean, what is it, rocket science?" a voice asked angrily.

"I'll have you know that the whelp is a very worthy adversary." a second voice replied.

"Yeah, too bad that doesn't work both ways." the first voice said.

"Are you questioning my skills as a hunter, wench?" the second voice asked angrily.

"I'm not questioning it. I'm stating the obvious." the first voice replied.

Candlehead and Bing Bong rounded a bend to find Skulker and Ember arguing and sitting on opposite sides of the tunnel.

"Hi." Candlehead greeted, meekly.

"Move along. We're having a stress-related break-up." Skulker snapped.

"Break-up? We haven't been 'together' for three months." Ember said.

"Wait, you were dating?" Bing Bong asked.

"Yes." Skulker and Ember replied testily.

"But isn't Skulker basically just a blob?" Bing Bong asked. He then shook his head and asked "Never mind. Do either of you know a way out of here?".

"Sure. You phase through the ceiling. Oh, right, you can't do that." Skulker replied.

"No kidding." Ember muttered, rolling her eyes.

"I think I might." a voice said.

All four looked ahead in the tunnel. Vlad was standing on the other side of the tunnel, his arms crossed. He was flanked by Coulson.

"Vlad!" Candlehead exclaimed.

Vlad nodded.

"Yes. Now, I believe we have..." Vlad started to say.

"I'll handle this." Coulson said.

Vlad rolled his eyes but stopped talking.

"We're trying to gather up the ghosts so we can fight back against the Nightmare King." Coulson explained.

"Shouldn't you be in City Hall?" Skulker asked.

"Overrun. We barely got out." Vlad replied.

"So it takes the Nightmare King to drive you out of office. How the mighty have fallen." Ember said.

Coulson pointed down the tunnel.

"Head to Casper High. Three hundred meters that way, take a left, and go straight to the end, where you'll find a ladder. Damon will meet you there." Coulson instructed.

"And why should we trust you?" Candlehead asked.

"Does anybody else have an idea?" Vlad asked.

There was a long silence.

"I didn't think so." Vlad said.

"We'll meet you there, just as soon as we finish finding the other ghosts down here." Coulson said.

"Good luck, if they don't want to be found." Ember said.

Coulson smirked.

"I've done this before. We'll find them." Coulson said.

* * *

The Sugar Rush racers, Cinndon, Candace, Toxika, Damon, and Crepe had split from the other Disney Characters and Nickelodeon Characters. They had met up with Valerie's team not far from the Amity Park Mall and were now sneaking down North Maple Street to the rendezvous point indicated by the radio. They climbed over a pile of rubble, and Vanellope raised an eyebrow.

A large green helicopter, the words 'British Army' stenciled on the side, was in the middle of the road, preparing to take off. A half-dozen soldiers were gathered around, aiming rifles at all angles. A moustached man in a green officer's uniform was standing next to the helicopter, looking over a small map.

"It looks like these guys are RERE." Vanellope whispered.

"But their British. What are they doing over here?" Gaston asked.

"I guess we'll find out." Vanellope replied.

She climbed over the ridge. For a second, the soldiers turned their rifles to her. But then somebody shouted 'Friendly!' and they turned them away.

"Von Schweetz?" the officer asked as the group reached the helicopter.

"How do you know my name?" Vanellope asked.

"Your reputation precedes you. Colonel Charbonneau, Royal Extraterrestrial Research Enclave. I think we can help each other." the officer replied.

"You wouldn't happen to know Gizmo Anders, would you?" Vanellope asked, shouting to make herself heard over the rotors.

"I did. I knew him quite well." Charbonneau replied.

"Wait... knew?" Crumbelina asked in confusion.

"Yes, knew. Another thing the Nightmare King needs to answer for, I suppose. Now come on, we've already found Owens and we need you all to come with us." Charbonneau replied.

* * *

"Change the rules? How? Do I just... say that he can't have the crown?" Swizzle asked.

The Man in the Black Suit paced before him.

"Not so simple. You and Vanellope haven't had a coronation. You have no authority." the Man in the Black Suit replied.

"So we just find a crown, right?" Swizzle asked.

"Ruling the multiverse does not work the same way. A coronation would take weeks, weeks that we do not have. No, you must initiate emergency powers." the Man in the Black Suit replied.

"Emergency powers?" Swizzle asked, somewhat redundantly.

"You must travel to the Hall of Souls. There, you will find the Great Obelisk where a king and queen, even uncrowned, can assume 'emergency powers' by absorbing the essence of each universe into your persons. You two will, essentially, become almost all-powerful." the Man in the Black Suit replied. He stopped, looked Swizzle in the eye, and said "This will also initiate the Universal Divide.".

"That sounds bad." Swizzle said meekly.

"The Universal Divide is the reason that no ruler has ever attempted this. It will sever all paths and portals between dimensions and universes. Each dimension and universe will become separate, as if an infinitely tall wall has been placed between them. If you are on the wrong side when that happens, there is no going back." the Man in the Black Suit replied.

"But... if me and Vanellope do this, we'll have to be in the Hall of Souls, which means..." Swizzle started to say. His face paled and he said "We'd be trapped in another dimension.".

"A noble sacrifice for all humanity. I'm sure you'll agree." the Man in the Black Suit said.

Swizzle shook his head.

"There's got to be another way! I mean, we can't just abandon everything and shut ourselves away for eternity! And I'd lose Jubileena, and Vanellope would lose Rancis. Come on, there's got to be another option." Swizzle exclaimed.

The Man in the Black Suit grinned smugly.

"There is. If you two were to, say, die in some kind of incident unrelated to the Nightmare King... well, no rulers, no problem." the Man in the Black Suit said.

"Out of the question. Come on, you've got to help me. There's got to be..." Swizzle started to say.

"Help you?" the Man in the Black Suit asked. He laughed bitterly and asked "You banished me into a pocket dimension for all eternity! You ruined millennia of planning! And after all you did to me, you want my help?". He shook his head and said "Don't you see? This is the freedom that you Sugar Rushers so desperately fought for.".

He began to fade. Swizzle reached out for him, but his hand went right through his chest.

"No. Please, there's got to be another way." Swizzle pleaded.

"Enjoy your freedom, Mr. Malarkey. I hope you choke on it." the Man in the Black Suit snarled.

He laughed as he faded into nothingness, leaving Swizzle alone and on his knees, his face pale as a sheet.

"Swizzle!" a voice shouted.

Jubileena, P.I.X.A.L. Danny, Sam, Tucker, and McLeach ran up the hill towards him, picking him up by the shoulders. Tucker reached into his backpack, pulled out a bottle of water, and handed it to the green haired boy.

"Swizzle, say something! Are you alright?" Tucker asked in concern.

"I'm doomed." Swizzle replied, hollowly.


	11. The Justice

**Chapter 11: The Justice**

The helicopter touched down on the deck of the Justice. The back door opened, and a sudden gust of bitingly cold air filling the cabin.

"Brilliant." Charbonneau muttered under his breath.

He led the Sugar Rush racers, Cinndon, Candace, Toxika, Damon, Crepe, Valerie, Nell, Gaston, Kocoum, Carl, Violet, and the soldiers out onto the flight deck. Adorabeezle's jaw dropped.

The Justice was tethered by way of giant steel cables to the unmistakable lines of the SHIELD helicarrier. A dark mist had descended over the ships and was getting darker. Lightning could be seen in the distance, but fluorescent lights kept the flight deck clear. Dozens of planes, many experimental in nature, were lined in neat rows on the side of the carrier.

"Look at all this stuff. This is cutting edge." Adorabeezle said.

"Sir!" a voice shouted.

A soldier in very thick white cold weather gear ran over to them, nearly slipping on the damp deck.

"Thunderstorm." the soldier warned.

"I noticed. Why didn't we pick this up sooner?" Charbonneau asked.

"Sorry, sir. We were too busy monitoring the Nightmare King to worry about the weather." the soldier replied. He then shook his head and said "It'll be colder then Everest within five minutes, sir. I've been ordered to bring everyone inside.".

Charbonneau nodded, and the group followed him towards the bridge.

* * *

Candi, Minty, and Jeremy were sitting outside of the door of the conference room on the Justice, looking out the window at the oncoming storm. Behind them, Dr. McFlambe was in a very animate conversation with Tony, while Millard stood in the corner, anxiously looking at the clock.

"I can't believe he's gone." Candi said.

"He might not be. I mean, he... he could've escaped..." Minty started to say, optimistically.

"Officer on deck!" a voice shouted.

Millard snapped to attention and saluted as Charbonneau led the other Sugar Rush racers, Cinndon, Candace, Toxika, Damon, and Crepe into the room. Charbonneau shook his head.

"No salutes, Captain. There isn't time. Is the conference ready?" Charbonneau asked.

"We've patched in representatives from the US, Russia, China, and Australia. Director Fury and Commander Hill are already talking with them." Millard replied.

Charbonneau nodded and looked at everyone.

"Dr. McFlambe, Mr. Stark, we'll need you in there. You too, Miss Von Schweetz and Queen Crumbelina." Charbonneau said.

Vanellope, Crumbelina, Dr. McFlambe, and Tony followed Charbonneau into the dark conference room, and the door shut behind them.

* * *

"General, in all due respect, I don't think that your qualified to talk down to me about an extra-worldly crisis! SHIELD has a plan to deal with this..." Fury started to say.

 _"We already tried conventional warfare, Fury! Our forces in EAGLE HAWK were near destroyed, and I am not going to stand around while some glorified zombie with a Napoleon complex is destroying our..."_ a man on a holographic screen started to say.

"Would you care to fill me in?" a voice asked.

Charbonneau walked into the small dark room, stopping in front of the four holographic screens in front of him. Director Nick Fury, who had been engaged in an animated argument with one of them, gave him a stern nod. Behind them, Vanellope, Crumbelina, Tony, and Dr. McFlambe stood next to Maria Hill, who was looking very unamused.

"How's it going?" Tony asked.

"Horribly." Hill replied.

The man on the furthest right screen, an American general replete with an almost stereotypical cigar in his hand, turned to Charbonneau. A nametag above his right breast pocket identified him as 'Taylor'.

"Colonel, thank you for joining us. As your aware, Operation EAGLE HAWK has failed." Fury replied.

"It was always going to. Conventional force can't beat the Nightmare King. Even if they had been competent, the Guys in White could only have slowed him down." Charbonneau said.

 _"Exactly, which is why we're pulling out all the stops."_ Taylor said.

 _"Our Premier has been in discussion with his counterparts in America and Russia. We have come to the conclusion that we must use our most powerful weapons to stop the Nightmare King."_ the man in the second right screen, who wore an impeccable green suit, explained.

Charbonneau paled.

"You have got to be kidding me." Charbonneau said.

 _"We don't joke about these matters. A nuclear strike at the heart of Amity Park should hit the Nightmare King, provided we hit the greatest possible area..."_ the man on the left-most screen, a general in a bright green uniform and slouch hat, started to explain.

"You are talking about killing innocent civilians!" Fury thundered.

 _"To save billions! Is it not worth the cost?"_ the woman in the last screen, who was wearing a dark blue uniform, asked.

"It won't work! The Nightmare King's been preparing for this for millennia! He's not going to be stopped by a particularly large bomb!" Charbonneau replied.

 _"Then we'll follow him. If he retreats to one of the other cities or worlds, we hit him there!"_ Taylor replied.

 _"Wait, nobody mentioned nuking the other cities or other worlds. You made it quite clear that there would be no threat to Beijing..."_ the green suited man started to say.

 _"Of course I did. I came up with that plan right now. We nuke him wherever he goes, and quickly, before he starts trying to taint our bodily fluids with some kind of zombie thing..."_ Taylor started to explain.

Charbonneau pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Gentlemen, ma'am, what if I told you I had a plan?" Charbonneau asked.

There was a short silence.

 _"What sort of plan?"_ the Chinese representative asked.

"We cannot win with a conventional army. But what if we had an unconventional one?" Charbonneau asked.

* * *

It had felt like hours, but eventually, the conference room door opened. Fury walked out first, and his presence was almost a magnet for the attention of the room. He turned to the Sugar Rush racers, Cinndon, Candace, Toxika, Damon, Crepe, and Jeremy.

"Charbonneau tells me that Vanellope and Swizzle are key to beating the Nightmare King. If I'm going to put all of my eggs in one basket, I need to be darn sure that I know everything about them. Vanellope has already complied, but I need to know about Swizzle." Fury said, narrowing his eye.

"Well, um, I don't think that we can tell you that because..." Candi started to say.

"All bets are off, princess. We need to know everything about Swizzle." Fury said.

Vanellope emerged from the room with Crumbelina, Dr. McFlambe, Charbonneau, and Tony.

"Candi, we have to tell them." Vanellope said.

"It's not your life to tell, Vanellope!" Candi sneered.

Fury leaned down, towering over Candi.

"I am the master of secrets, Owens. I know when people are holding out on me, and I will not let that jeopardize the safety of this world." Fury growled.

"I'm the one who did it." a voice said.

All eyes fell on Vanellope.

"I'm the one who gave Swizzle his powers, along with the rest of the team, besides Cinndon, Candace, Silvia, Damon, and Crepe. I modified their code boxes to include powers." Vanellope explained.

Candi shot Vanellope a very dark glare.

"Why did you do that?" Candi asked angrily.

"Why do you care so much? It's not like it was a secret." Vanellope replied.

Candi scowled, turned her back, and walked away.

"Hey! Hey, get back here! We've actually got a plan, princess! You can't just walk away..." Vanellope started to shout.

"Watch me." Candi hissed, walking out the door.

There was a long silence.

"I thought you said that you were a team. Because that? That was pretty terrible." Tony said.

Crumbelina sighed.

"I'll go talk to her." Crumbelina said.

* * *

Candi sat down next to a fighter jet in a hanger several floors below the bridge. Crumbelina walked into the hanger a few minutes later and sat next to her daughter.

"Well, that could've gone better." Crumbelina said.

Candi sighed.

"I can't believe her. It's Swizzle's personal life, and Vanellope decided that it was okay to tell everything about it!" Candi said.

"Come on, honey. I'm sure she means well." Crumbelina said.

"You don't just give info like that away. It'd be like if Eliza went around telling people about her secret while she and the rest of the Wild Thornberry's characters were shooting episodes back when their show was still on!" Candi said angrily.

"No, it's not. Swizzle isn't going to lose his powers just because Vanellope told Fury something about his life." Crumbelina said reassuringly.

"And you know what? That's completely unfair!" Candi shouted. She buried her head in her arms and said "Adorabeezle has her smarts, Swizzle has his powers, Jeremy's almost indestructible, and even Candlehead and Candace have their heat abilities. Sure, I have my caramel abilities, but their basically a rip-off of yours.". She sighed heavily and said "I'm a failure.".

 _"Is someone there?"_ a voice asked.

A door opened, but Candi didn't look up. But she did nearly jump when she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up.

"Do you need someone to talk to, kid?" Captain Steve Rogers asked.


	12. Casper High

**Chapter 12: Casper High**

The streets of Amity Park were deserted. Swizzle, Jubileena, P.I.X.A.L. Danny, Sam, Tucker, and McLeach walked through the wrecked streets in silence as darkness fell around them. The sides of the roads were lined with rubble, wrecked cars, and the occasional destroyed military vehicle. The Guys in White's counterattack had clearly failed disastrously, and by the silence on the wind, all resistance in Amity Park had ceased.

"Swizzle, your going to have to tell us what he told you." Jubileena said.

Swizzle didn't reply. Instead, he turned a bend as if walking in a dream. Casper High was at the end of the street, which was blocked by a downed attack helicopter. It was scorched, but not on fire.

"Swizzle, we can't help you unless you talk to us." Sam snapped.

Swizzle ignored her and climbed onto the helicopter. He looked over at Casper High, his eyes narrowing.

"Swizzle, come on! You've got to snap out of this..." McLeach started to say.

"Ghosts. In there." Swizzle said.

There was a long silence.

"Friendly ghosts?" Tucker asked, hopefully.

"Only one way to find out." Swizzle replied.

He jumped down from the helicopter and walked over to the school doors. The others hurried after him. The doors were locked, so Swizzle knocked on them.

"Unoccupied!" a voice called, unconvincingly.

Swizzle rolled his eyes.

"Lancer, it's me, Swizzle." a voice said.

There was a creak as the door opened slightly. An eye peered out before the door flung open with great force, slamming Tucker in the face.

"Guys! You look like you've been hit by a tank!" Mr. Lancer exclaimed.

"I'm here too, Mr. Lancer." Tucker said, pulling himself off the ground.

"Oh, right, Mr. Foley. I apologize. Now get inside, before they find you!" Mr. Lancer said.

He dragged Swizzle in by the collar. Jubileena, P.I.X.A.L. Danny, Sam, Tucker, and McLeach looked at each other, shrugged, and followed him in.

* * *

The Sugar Rush racers, Cinndon, Candace, Toxika, Damon, Crepe, Jeremy, Tony, Charbonneu, Fury, Hill, Dr. McFlambe, and Tremblay were standing on the bridge of the Justice, looking over a holographic map of Amity Park.

"Two dozen Harrier GR.10s... specialized aircraft, you see... plus fighter coverage from SHIELD F-35Cs and UNIT Eurofighters. We have roughly a battalion worth of infantry if we pool all of our commands together, light armor, and a platoon of Challengers aboard Justice, which we can airlift to Amity aboard..." Tremblay started to say, reading off from a list.

"Major Tremblay, not all of us have an encyclopedic knowledge of military hardware. Get to the point, man!" Dr. McFlambe said.

"We have enough air and ground forces to support the plan for about three hours, if we go all out. We can't guarantee we'll be able to get to the portal." Tremblay explained.

"And with Sugar Rush and Stark? And Jeremy? And the other Disney Characters and Nickelodeon Characters?" Charbonneau asked.

"It's still not looking good, sir." Tremblay replied.

There was a long silence.

"Well, everyone here knows what their getting into." Charbonneau said, grimly. He turned to Tony and ordered "Mr. Stark, take McFlambe and Miss Winterpop to the lab. There are components from RERE's attempt at an anti-ghost weapon. It's called Project Ghost. Do what you like with them, but have it done within two hours.".

"You want me to build a highly sophisticated combat suit in two hours?" Tony asked.

"Yes." Charbonneau replied.

"Sure, no problem." Tony said.

* * *

Down in the hangar, Steve and Crumbelina were sitting next to Candi.

"So, what's the problem?" Steve asked.

"I'm useless." Candi replied.

"What makes you think that?" Steve asked.

"Look at me. I'm short, I'm weak, and I'm not that smart. If I didn't have caramel abilities, I'd be nothing." Candi replied. She then sighed, looked at her feet, and muttered "Maybe if I wasn't so terrible, Gizmo would still be here.".

"Gizmo knew what he was getting into." Steve said.

"It doesn't make it better." Candi said.

"No, it doesn't. Crumbelina said.

There was a long silence.

"You couldn't have done anything. No one could have." Steve said.

"You could have. Your a super solider." Candi said.

"And I've lost people too. People who were... very close to me. People I wish to God I could have saved." Steve said. He sighed, shook his head, and said "But you can't let it tear you up. You have to keep going. It's what they would want. And if you can do that, then you've got all the strength you need.". He then smiled a little and said "Besides, you don't need to be a genius to be smart. Just be a little... creative.".

 _"Captain Rogers, Miss Owens, and Mrs. Owens, to the bridge."_ a voice on the PA system said.

Steve and Crumbelina looked up.

"You need any more time to..." Steve started to ask.

"Go ahead, I'll be right there. I've got something to do." Candi replied, smiling a little.

Steve nodded and ran out the door. Crumbelina started to follow him, but before she left, she stopped running and turned to her daughter.

"Wait, what do you have to do?" Crumbelina asked.

Candi looked at Crumbelina.

"I just had a thought... I'm pretty sure Jorgen owes me a favor." Candi replied.

* * *

Swizzle, Jubileena, P.I.X.A.L. Danny, Sam, Tucker, and McLeach had been escorted to the English class, and they were now standing somewhat awkwardly in the middle of the room, right between the A-List and Vlad (who was in his human form), who was talking in hushed tones with Damon and Coulson. Candlehead and Bing Bong had beaten them there, and the Birthday themed racer and Imaginary friend were sitting in the corner. Lancer was at the front of the class, watching an old TV.

 _"We can now confirm that Elmerton has fallen. The Guys in White have been decisively defeated, and US Marines and National Guardsmen are being pushed away from the outskirts of town. Evacuation appears to no longer be possible. We'll take you to Lance Thunder on the ground in the Marine ca..."_ the man on screen was starting to report.

The screen suddenly turned to static.

 _"There is nothing you can do to save yourselves."_ a voice sneered.

The Nightmare King's face, cast in shadow, appeared on screen. Somebody screamed.

 _"Your armies are vanquished. Resistance is pointless."_ the Nightmare King said.

Lancer pressed frantically at the remote, but nothing happened.

 _"Pray to your gods... for what good it will do? In the end, you are totally lost. This world shall be cleansed of all intelligent life."_ the Nightmare King sneered. He then narrowed his eyes and said _"The Age of Humanity is over."_.

The television promptly exploded. Dash squealed and jumped back. Kwan raised an arm.

"Mr. Lancer? Seeing that we're all going to die, can I get an exemption on my essay?" Kwan asked.

"I'm sick of this." Swizzle said. He walked to the front of the class and asked "Is this how it all ends? Do we just sit here cowering until he kills us all? Or do we fight back?".

"With what?" Paulina asked.

"We'll make our own ghost hunting weapons. We find the ghosts, we team up with them, and we close that portal." Swizzle replied.

"And if we can't do it?" Star asked, crossing her arms.

"Then at least we tried something." Swizzle replied. He then turned to Coulson and asked "You, Coulson! Where are the ghosts?".

"There are no ghosts in Casper..." Coulson started to reply.

"Coulson, we can trust him. He's a good kid." Damon said.

Coulson paused and then nodded.

"Their gathered in the gym." Coulson replied.

"Thanks. Now, who's with me? Who wants to fight?" Swizzle asked.

"Why should we follow you, Malarkey? Come on, your just a scrawny little dork! Since when can a coward like you fight?" Dash asked.

"You take that back, Baxter." Jubileena sneered.

"See? He's letting his wife fight his battles for..." Dash started to say.

"Your right." Swizzle said.

All eyes turned to Swizzle, who was staring straight at Dash.

"Why should you follow Swizzle?" Swizzle asked.

He clenched his fists and formed an energy ball. Dash and the rest of the A-List recoiled in shock (because they didn't know he had powers), and Vlad and Coulson raised eyebrows.

"Well, Dash, you'd be surprised." Swizzle said. He then asked "Now, I'm going to ask again. Who's with me?".

He raised a fist in the air. Jubileena, P.I.X.A.L. Danny, Sam, Tucker, and McLeach raised theirs almost immediately, followed by Candlehead and Bing Bong. Vlad sighed heavy and raised his, followed by Damon and Coulson. Then, one by one, everyone else in the room lifted their fists, until only Dash was left.

"Well, this is the most awkward moment of my life." Dash muttered, uncomfortably raising his fist.

"Great. Percival, Tucker, Mikey, get to the science labs and build something that we can use. Dash, Kwan, whip everyone into shape, and yes, that means you, Paulina. Vlad, come with me, we need to talk to the ghosts." Swizzle ordered.

* * *

"What is this stuff?" a marine asked.

Jack, Maddie, Sergeant Hoffman, and a younger marine were climbing through some rubble, heading across town in search of any citizens left in the ruins. The marine was poking his rifle at a wall that was covered in green fungi.

"Have you ever read H. G. Wells, son? Did you ever hear the term 'red weed'?" Hoffman asked.

The marine shook his head.

"Their terraforming us, private. Changing the world to suit their needs. It's not invasion. It's colonization." Hoffman replied.

They climbed over a pile of rubble and found themselves looking over the Amity Park Museum. The roof had been torn away and had landed in pieces on the next door building.

"Well, nobody's in there. Still, there might be something we can use in there." Hoffman said. He turned around and ordered "Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, move on to Casper. Private Pyle and I will delve through that mess.".

The two marines jumped down from the rubble and started heading to the museum. Jack looked around the wreckage, shaking his head.

"Do you think the kids are still out there?" Jack asked.

Maddie put a hand on his shoulder.

"Their Fentons, Jack. They'll handle themselves just fine." Maddie replied.


	13. The Team

**Chapter 13: The Team**

"Owens, what you are asking for is unacceptable!" Jorgen thundered.

"But it's for the safety of the world! Come on, you've got to have some kind of powerful magical weapons that I can borrow!" Candi said. There was a pause before she added "I'll give them back!".

Candi and Jorgen were having a very awkward conversation in one of the toilet stalls in the heart of the Justice.

"No. If it were anyone else, maybe, but never tiny Candi DiCaramello Owens! You cannot be trusted with them!" Jorgen said.

"Alright, fine, don't help me. But what are you going to do when the world is destroyed, huh, Jorgen? No world, no kids. No kids, no wishes. No wishes... well, then what will you do?" Candi asked angrily.

There was a very long silence. Finally, Jorgen narrowed his eyes.

"Just this once, princess. But if anything happens to my stuff, I will make you sweep the whole of Fairy World with a toothbrush." Jorgen replied.

"Noted. What do you have?" Candi asked.

* * *

The Sugar Rush racers, Cinndon, Candace, Toxika, Damon, Crepe, Charlie, Kaiser, and Jellysha were sitting on the edge of the bridge, watching Charbonneau, Fury, and the others talk about strategy, logistics, and other boring things. The other Disney Characters, the Nickelodeon Characters, and Destiny had showed up shortly after Candi walked out of the room, and they were all scattered around the Justice.

"Wow. I never thought that saving the world would be so wordy." Nell said.

The door opened suddenly and Candi ran inside, carrying a large crate.

"Guys, Jorgen gave me stuff! Pass it around!" Candi shouted.

Candi dropped the box and opened it. She pulled out a suit of armor and a Roman-style helmet and gave it to Charlie, who was standing by Snowanna.

"Okay, Charlie, your first! This is a suit of armor from the Ninth Legion, enchanted by some druids. It should be nearly impossible to damage it. Also, the Sword of Damocles. It's not actually magic, but it is really cool." Candi explained.

Charlie grabbed the sword and looked it over.

"It is, it is. Jorgen has taste." Charlie said.

Candi pulled out a trident and a blue cloak, and she handed it to Kaiser, who was standing by Nougetsia.

"Kaiser, this is Trishula, Shiva's trident. You can throw it at anything and it always comes back to you. The cloak is the Falcon's cloak, which let's you fly. Not for long though, just short bursts." Candi explained.

Kaiser grabbed the cloak, looked it over, and nodded. Candi nodded, pulled out a short staff, and handed it to Jellysha.

"And finally, Isis' staff. It let's you heal." Candi explained.

"How do you know all this stuff?" Jellysha asked in confusion.

"I don't. I'm just repeating what Jorgen said." Candi replied.

 _"All hands, attention, if you please."_ a voice on the ship's PA system said.

It was Millard who had just spoken. Charbonneau turned to Fury.

"It's all your's, if you please," Charbonneau said.

Fury nodded and walked over to the microphone.

"This is Director Nicholas Fury." Fury said.

* * *

 _"In just a few minutes, Operation Kickback will begin. All of us... SHIELD, UNIT, RERE, and civilian... will need to do our parts."_ Fury said.

In the labs, Adorabeezle checked over various devices. Next to her, Dr. McFlambe fiddled with a knob of a machine before nodding to Tony and motioning to a steel door.

 _"The Nightmare King thinks that he has won. He thinks that we are going to lay down and let him take over our home. We are going to show him just how wrong he is."_ Fury said.

Steve walked into the armory of the Helicarrier, typing a number into a keypad. A metal safe opened, revealing his uniform and shield.

 _"We are going to take this fight right back to where it started. We are going to retake Amity Park, and we are going to kick his undead goons right back into the hellhole from which they came."_ Fury said.

Candi led the other Sugar Rush racers, Cinndon, Candace, Toxika, Damon, Crepe, Charlie, Kaiser, and Jellysha onto the flight deck of the Justice, the latter three decked out in armor, cloak, and staff respectively. Around them, pilots were rushing through the storm to their planes, jumping into the cockpits once they reached them.

 _"Many of us may not return. Many more have fallen already. Their sacrifice will not be in vain."_ Fury said.

Behind them, Adorabeezle, Valerie (who was decked out in her armor), Jeremy, and Jazz emerged from the fog.

 _"It is at times like this that I am reminded of the words of a great man."_ Fury said.

Licortwist and Creamy emerged behind them. Creamy was decked out in a brown-and-yellow metal suit that was similar to Tony's, and the two of them were sharing one last kiss together.

 _"I ask you to remember these words as you go into the night, into the darkest hour that comes before the dawn."_ Fury said.

Vanellope stopped walking and waited until Candi reached her. The two glanced at each other for a second before they grinned and shook hands.

 _"If you are going through hell... keep going."_ Fury said.

* * *

"What have we got?" McLeach asked.

"Well, I was thinking of making an anti-ghost homing missile system, but we didn't have any homing missiles in the lab. So I made this." Mikey replied.

He showed McLeach and Tucker a small tube with a bottle of ectoplasm sticking out of the side.

"It's a tube that sprays ectoplasm." Mikey explained.

Jubileena, Candlehead, P.I.X.A.L. Danny, Sam, Tucker, McLeach, Mikey, Bing Bong, the rest of the students, and Lancer were standing outside Casper High, waiting for Swizzle and Vlad to come back with the ghosts. They had been joined by Jack and Maddie, who had reached the school shortly after Swizzle talked to everyone. It was twilight, and storm clouds were forming above them.

"It's bad enough that I have to fight these ghosts. But do I have to do it in the rain?" Paulina asked.

"Oh, grow up." Jubileena replied.

"Excuse me? Do you have any idea who your talking to, Malarkey? I haven't sat in a classroom full of low-class nerds and losers all day just for you to tell me what to do! When my father hears about this, he's going to..." Paulina started to say angrily.

"Shut up!" the entire group said.

Paulina pouted. Just then, the door opened, and Swizzle and Vlad, who was now in Plasmius form, emerged from the building. Behind them, Skulker, Ember, Technus, and a variety of other ghosts phased through the walls, floating towards the group and touching down dramatically.

"Would it kill you to use the door?" Danny asked.

"We have to keep up appearances, Fenton." Technus replied.

Swizzle looked around at everyone.

"Alright, guys. This is your last chance. If anybody wants to back out, now's your chance. We won't think badly of you." Swizzle said.

"Mr. Malarkey, if I wanted to 'back out', I wouldn't be out here in the first place. You are my friend and I will stand by you." Lancer replied.

Jubileena nodded.

"We're all with you until the end, Swizzle." Jubileena said.

"Oh, isn't this just heart warming?" a voice asked sarcastically.

All eyes fell on the end of the street. The Nightmare King was standing on the road, his arms crossed, flanked by the Evil Syndicate and Napoleon. His army was formed up behind him.

"I should have known that you would return here. It's the only place that you have left to go." the Nightmare King said. He cracked his knuckles and said "But I'm afraid that this is where it ends, Swizzle Malarkey. There is a kingdom to fight for, and a throne to win.".

He smirked, which was deeply unnatural on his skull-like face.

"En garde." the Nightmare King said.


	14. The Battle

**Chapter 14: The Battle**

Swizzle stepped onto the road, his fists clenched. Jubileena, Candlehead, P.I.X.A.L. Danny, Sam, Tucker, McLeach, and Bing Bong backed him up, while the rest of the group held back.

"I know how to beat you. I know about the Hall of Souls." Swizzle said.

The Nightmare King raised an eyebrow.

"I presume Romulus told you about this." the Nightmare King said.

"Romulus? Who's Romulus?" Bing Bong asked.

"Well, he was one of the founders of Rome. According to legend, he killed his brother Remus for control over..." Sam started to reply. She trailed off as realization dawned over her, and she said "Your kidding.".

"He's the Man in the Black Suit. Well, there's a bit of trivia for us." Swizzle said. He shrugged, turned back to the Nightmare King, and ordered "I'm going to offer you a chance, Nightmare King. This has gone on long enough. Go back to the Hall and take your army with you.".

"You dare to make demands of me?" the Nightmare King asked angrily.

"I'm giving you a chance, Anthony." Swizzle replied.

The Nightmare King glared at him, but Swizzle didn't flinch.

"We will meet at the Hall of Souls, if you can get past my army." the Nightmare King snapped.

He jumped into the air and soared into the sky, heading for his portal.

"Now, mon ami, where were we?" Napoleon asked, stepping forward. The soldiers behind him raised their weapons, and he started to say "Ah yes, of course. Fi...".

Quite suddenly, the road in front of Napoleon exploded, sending himself, the Syndicate, and the soldiers flying backwards. Jeremy touched down on the tarmac, a rocket extended from each shoulder. Behind him, Minty, Dani, Valerie, Kaiser, and Adorabeezle also landed, the latter on a jetpack. With a poof of smoke, the other Sugar Rush racers, Cinndon, Candace, Toxika, Damon, and Crepe materialized behind them, followed by the remaining Disney Characters and Nickelodeon Characters.

Above them, a duo of fighter jets thundered towards them, firing ectoplasmic rockets at the formations of ghost soldiers, who were only just beginning to react to the sudden attack. The soldiers scattered, losing cohesion as the rockets exploded around them.

A ghost tank rumbled around the corner, it's turret aiming at the assembled ghost fighters. It ground to a halt, preparing to fire. Then there was a sonic boom as a red-and-gold armored suit and a brown-and-yellow armored suit both slammed fist-first into the turret, crushing it and disabling the tank. Tony raised a fist, which was glowing green.

"Ectoranium fists. Not a bad idea, Winterpop." Tony said.

Adorabeezle rolled her eyes as the last ghost soldiers made a run for it. Behind them, a Quinjet and a helicopter landed in the street, dropping off Steve, Charbonneau, and a platoon of RERE soldiers.

"Alright, everyone, this is it. We're going to kick the Nightmare King back into wherever he came from!" Vanellope shouted. She then raised a fist and cried "Heroes, Unite!".

"Heroes Unite? Isn't that a bit corny?" Tony asked, leaning next to Steve and crossing his arms.

"Avengers assemble?" Steve asked, bluntly.

"Good point." Tony replied.

* * *

All across the city of Amity Park, Quinjets and helicopters were touching down, dropping off reinforcements to fight the Nightmare King. Above them, SHIELD and UNIT aircraft were trying to wrestle control of the skies from the shadows in a massive dogfight. On the streets, tanks rolled through the narrow gaps between buildings, slowly pushing the Nightmare King's soldiers back towards the ruins of Fenton Works.

Jazz was leading some of the Casper High students down an alleyway. They rounded a bend and found their path blocked by Spectra.

"Jazz Fenton. It's been a while, hasn't it?" Spectra asked. She then chuckled and started to say "Oh, I can just feel your emotions right now. You don't really think you can win! Your just fighting back to stop yourselves from falling to despair! Don't do that. Embrace the misery! Besides, your too worthless to really threaten the Nightmare King. Your just a bunch of...".

"Enough mind games, Spectra. I'm a psychotherapist." Jazz said.

She raised the Fenton Bazooka and fired. The blast hit Spectra square in the face, sending her flying backwards through a wall. She landed inside a warehouse, smashing into a pile of empty crates.

"Kwan, keep going! I'll deal with her." Jazz ordered.

Kwan nodded and led the students onward down the alley. Jazz smirked and stepped through the hole.

"Now, where were we?" Jazz asked.

* * *

Kwan led the group out onto an open street, skidding to a halt on the curb as a line of tanks rolled by. Steve stood on the turret of the lead tank, giving instructions to the tank commander.

Suddenly, a ghost tank lumbered around the corner at the end of the street, aiming its cannon at the lead tank. With a thunderous roar, it fired, but Steve raised his shield and deflected the shot into the air.

Up in the air, Tony and Creamy both dodged the shot, and Tony muttered something about friendly fire under his breath. The two of them turned around in the air, and Creamy fired small rockets on a pack of following shadows. The rockets met their marks, and the shadows splattered into black goop.

Jim Hawkins roared past them on the Solar Surfer, followed by a rotting ghostly fighter plane. He jumped from the Solar Surfer and back-flipped, firing an ectoray at the engine. It erupted into green flame and the plane nosedived to earth.

It slammed into the ground in the park, right behind Timon, who almost jumped out of his skin. He, Pumbaa, Clayton, Paulina, Mikey, Quasimodo, and Nathan Lester were being led through the park by Damon. They ducked through a hedge and found themselves face to face with several ghost soldiers. They made to raise their weapons but were immediately sprayed by a barrage of Mikey's Ectotubes.

One of the soldiers helmets was knocked off and rolled down the road. It rolled past Charbonneau and a small squad of RERE troops, who were advancing slowly down the road, and eventually was stopped by Kaiser's leg. He leaped into the air with the help of his cloak, hurling his trident at Elizabeth Bathory. The trident tripped her off her feet before returning to the boy, leaving Charlie open to charge in, sword raised. Elizabeth grabbed the blade, but Charlie lifted it up again and hurled it over his shoulder, sending her flying into a wall.

She landed, unconscious, behind Tamora, Fury, Coulson, and Hill, who were back to back and firing their weapons at the Nightmare King's soldiers in all directions. Not far away from them, Frederick the Great had been backed into a wall by Sully and Randall. Frederick raised his arm as if to dramatically declare something, but before he could, the wall crumbled and he was knocked to the ground. A Sherman tank rolled out onto the street, and Gunnery Sergeant Hoffman was hanging out the hatch, waving a sword.

The tank rolled down the road, passing a small alleyway in which Judy Hopps, Nick Wilde, Moana, and Maui were advancing on the Box Ghost. The ghost raised his arms and a flurry of cardboard boxes rained on the four heroes, bouncing harmlessly off of their heads. Nick rolled his eyes and pulled a Fenton Thermos out of his pants.

On the other side of the alley, Ralph had picked up a ghost soldier by the collar. He threw the ghost soldier through the air towards Ember, who batted him into the sky with her guitar. The ghost soldier landed in a crater outside of the Foley residence, where Licortwist and Akari were fighting off a swarm of shadows, with Licortwist using the licorice pieces and Akari using plasma balls, sound blasts, and her smoke transportation respectively. A soldier ran towards them, but Licortwist had the licorice pieces grab them and slam them onto the ground.

A few dozen meters away, the Sugar Rush racers, Cinndon, Candace, Toxika, Damon, and Crepe advanced on the Syndicate.

"The Nightmare King cannot be defeated, kids! You cannot win!" Calamitous spat.

"Oh, really? Well, in that case..." Vanellope started to say.

Jeremy, Jazz, Valerie, Patrick, P.I.X.A.L., Carl, Sheen, Nell, and Destiny emerged from the fog behind them. They were quickly followed by the Fentons, the kids of Casper High, Tony and Steve, the other Disney Characters, the other Nickelodeon Characters, SHIELD, RERE, UNIT, and even the floating form of Vlad Plasmius. All were ready to attack.

"Tell him we're coming." Rancis ordered.

The Syndicate turned around and fled.


	15. The Choice

**Chapter 15: The Choice**

A makeshift infirmary had been built in a small house about two hundred yards from the remains of Fenton Works. The attack had slowed down here. A small team of RERE commandos had been sent forward to secure the Fenton Portal, but the Nightmare King seemed content to let them be. For now.

Swizzle stood under the doorway, looking out across the quiet street towards the house. He had been staring at it for some time. Vanellope was also with Swizzle, and he had told her everything about the Nightmare King, and what the two of them had to do with him.

"Guys? Are you okay?" a voice asked.

Rancis and Jubileena had walked up behind them.

"Yeah. We're just working out what we're going to do." Vanellope replied.

"What did the Ma... did Romulus tell you, Swizzle?" Rancis asked.

"He told me what the Nightmare King wants. He thinks me and Vanellope are the rightful rulers of the multiverse because 'we have great power in us'." Swizzle replied.

He sighed, turned to Jubileena, and took her hands in his.

"Look, I don't know if we're going to survive today. I might never get another chance to say this, so I'm just going to go ahead and say it. I love you, Jubileena." Swizzle said.

"I love you too, Swizzle." Jubileena said, her ears watering and her voice beginning to crack.

They leaned in close and kissed. It did not last long, but it was enough. Vanellope and Rancis watched the whole thing, the both of them smiling at the event.

"Rancis! Jubileena!" a voice shouted.

Swizzle and Jubileena slowly pulled out of the kiss, and they, Vanellope, and Rancis turned around. Woody was standing in the hallway behind them.

"Hill wants you. She needs a go-between with the ghosts." Woody announced.

Rancis and Jubileena nodded.

"We'll see you later, guys." Jubileena said.

She and Rancis walked over to Woody, and the three of them walked down the hall and disappeared around the corner.

"No, guys, you won't." Swizzle said quietly.

"I see you've made your peace, then?" a voice said.

Charbonneau emerged from a door, shutting it behind him.

"You knew about all of this. The Nightmare King, the invasion, the Universal Divide... why didn't you tell us?" Vanellope asked.

"There was nothing that you could have done to prevent this." Charbonneau replied.

He, Vanellope, and Swizzle stepped out the door, under the increasingly threatening clouds.

"Millard radioed in. Their at the portal and waiting on your go. We think the Nightmare King is waiting for you to reach the Hall of Souls before he sends his army back in." Charbonneau said.

"Combat by champion." Swizzle said.

He and Vanellope looked up at the massive portal above.

"What about you?" Vanellope asked.

"I intend to send a small team into the Ghost Zone after you. They'll try to knock out Napoleon and the Nightmare King's other commanders. If Jeremy's belief that they have his mother, Doctor Flur, is correct, they will also free her and any other captives." Charbonneau replied.

"And the commanders?" Swizzle asked.

"Mostly likely in Pariah's keep." Charbonneau replied.

Vanellope and Swizzle looked down from the clouds and faced Charbonneau.

"Don't let Rancis and Jubileena follow us, alright? We're not losing them." Vanellope ordered.

"You have my word." Charbonneau said.

Vanellope and Swizzle nodded, and they turned back to the road.

"Are you not going to see your team?" Charbonneau asked.

Vanellope and Swizzle shook their heads.

"One goodbye is hard enough, sir." Swizzle replied.

He and Vanellope began to walk down the street. Around them, drop by drop, the rain began to fall.

* * *

The whole house above Fenton Works had been torn off, so getting into the lab was as simple as climbing down the wall. Vanellope and Swizzle dropped the last few feet to the ground, landing next to a couple of RERE soldiers and Captain Millard. The portal was still active, it's green glow illuminating the falling rain. A somewhat battered Specter Speeder was being readied for use in front of it.

"Von Schweetz, Malarkey, I'd say that it's good to see you, but... do you know the term 'forlorn hope'?" Millard asked.

"I'm pretty sure I do." Vanellope replied.

"Me too." Swizzle added.

Millard shrugged.

"Ah well, we'll be through behind you. Private Elsmere will remain behind to shut off the portal behind us." Millard said.

"Then how will you guys get back?" Swizzle asked.

"The hope is that we'll be able to escape through the Nightmare King's own portal. But let's be realistic here, we're probably not coming back." Millard replied.

"Never say never." Vanellope said.

"That is true. We'll move in after you. Good luck." Millard said.

Vanellope and Swizzle walked towards the portal. For a moment, they looked into the swirling green vortex, before Swizzle clenched his fists, grabbed Vanellope, and flew through it.

* * *

Rancis and Jubileena walked out of the house, looking around. Vanellope and Swizzle had been gone when they emerged from Hill's meeting, and the two of them wanted to keep their girlfriend and husband company while they waited for the final battle. Instead, they found Charbonneau looking down the street towards Fenton Works, his face stern and unreadable.

"Charbonneau, where are Vanellope and Swizzle?" Jubileena asked.

"They have gone to the Hall of Souls, to fight the Nightmare King and initiate the Universal Divide." Charbonneau replied.

"The universal what?" Rancis asked, barely noticing the other Sugar Rush racers, Cinndon, Candace, Toxika, Damon, Crepe, P.I.X.A.L., Sam, Tucker, Jazz, and Maleficent emerging from the house behind them.

"The Universal Divide will give them the power to vanquish the Nightmare King's armies. It will also seal off each dimension and universe forever." Charbonneau replied.

"What? They can't do that!" P.I.X.A.L. said.

"It's all they can do." Charbonneau said.

"I'm going after them. They aren't sacrificing themselves." Rancis said.

"Then how, pray tell, will you defeat the Nightmare King?" Charbonneau asked.

"I'll do it." Jubileena replied.

Tucker walked to her side.

"No, you won't. I will." Tucker said.

Charbonneau glanced over to the other Sugar Rush racers, Cinndon, Candace, Toxika, Damon, Crepe, P.I.X.A.L., Sam, Jazz, and Maleficent.

"I suspect your going to volunteer yourselves too?" Charbonneau asked dryly.

"For Vanellope and Swizzle? Every time." Taffyta replied.

"Their one of us. If their being trapped forever in another dimension, I won't let them stay there alone." Adorabeezle added.

"Besides, we saved them once. If they get themselves stuck, we'd all have wasted our time." Jeremy added.

Charbonneau frowned.

"I gave my word to Miss Von Schweetz and Mr. Malarkey that I wouldn't let you follow them." Charbonneau said, sternly.

"You can't..." Maleficent started to say.

"I am also an intelligence officer, and therefore lie habitually. Get going." Charbonneau said.

He turned around and walked away. The group stared at him for a moment before turning back in the direction of Fenton Works.

"Nobody's getting stranded anywhere. I have a plan." Adorabeezle said. There was a moment's silence before she said "Well, okay, it's more of a theory. I'll explain as we go.".

* * *

Vanellope and Swizzle stood on one of the Ghost Zone's many rocks, looking down over a massive swirling vortex.

The Hall of Souls had not been hard to find. It was actually in a straight line from the portal, about a five minute's flight away. The Nightmare King must have changed the geography of the Ghost Zone for them. If it were anyone else, it might have been a nice sentiment.

Swizzle looked down, slowly breathing in and out. Vanellope gently placed a hand on his shoulder, and Swizzle looked at her. Vanellope smiled and nodded. Swizzle nodded, and Vanellope held onto his back. Swizzle then extended his arms, and allowed himself to fall off of the rock and swan dive into the vortex below. There was the sound of rushing wind, and then everything faded to white.


	16. The Call

**Chapter 16: The Call**

 _"Location: The Hall Of Souls, July 11th 2109"_

"Von Schweetz, Malarkey." a voice greeted coldly.

Vanellope and Swizzle opened his eyes. They were laying on a stone floor of a ruined temple. Cracked pillars held up a marble roof, and before each pillar rested a headless marble statue of an ancient Roman soldier. Beyond the pillars was nothing but an endless void of swirling shades of red. A giant painting covered the roof of the temple, depicting the Nightmare King standing over Octavian's body, holding a crown in his hand.

"What do you think of my abode?" the voice asked.

Vanellope and Swizzle sat up. The Nightmare King was standing on the other side of the temple, in front of a statue of what looked like one of the cloaked Ancients. A lever was built into the base of the statue, under which was an inscription that said 'Universal Divide'. The two Sugar Rush racers stood up and glared at him.

"What do we think? I think that your a bit obsessed." Swizzle replied.

"I don't deny it. The thought of being King kept me going through the years of exile that I endured. Without it, I would have gone mad." the Nightmare King said.

"Yeah because your totally sane right now." Vanellope said sarcastically. She then looked at the lever and asked "So, why haven't you pulled that?".

"Only the King or Queen, crowned or uncrowned, may initiate the Universal Divide. Besides, I intend to rule each world." the Nightmare King replied.

"Well then, your standing in front of something we want. Shall we? Swizzle asked.

"Gladly. Have at you." the Nightmare King replied.

He raised his arms, creating a ball of ectoplasm between them.

* * *

 _"Location: Amity Park, The World Of Nickelodeon, July 11th 2109"_

"Contacts on radar. The Nightmare King's troops are coming back!" Damon exclaimed, looking up from a laptop.

"You heard the man! Ready up!" Zeus thundered.

The Disney Characters and Nickelodeon Characters barreled out the front of the house. Coulson and Steve were already out there, directing soldiers into cover of the rubble. Above them, ranks of ghostly troops and shadows began to descend from the massive portal in the sky. Charbonneau and Fury burst out of the house.

"This is it, gentlemen! One last effort!" Charbonneau exclaimed.

"Mr. Stark, Miss Buttercap, bring in the rain!" Fury shouted into his radio.

There was a thunderous roar as Tony and Creamy shot by above, a formation of fighter jets behind them. They went straight for the shadows, firing rockets and missiles from close range.

 _"We'll keep them busy."_ Creamy said.

 _"Try not to die down there."_ Tony added.

The soldiers landed on the ground. Without a beat, they charged straight for the house. The RERE and UNIT troops leaned out of cover and fired, but their shots were of little effect against the massive wave heading towards them.

"Well, once more unto the breach." Steve said, holding up his shield.

He leaped over the rubble and ran straight for the soldiers.

"Wait a minute. Where is Sugar Rush?" Jack asked.

Any reply was interrupted by the ghost soldiers leaping over the rubble.

* * *

Adorabeezle shimmied down a pipe into the Fentons lab.

"Okay, here's my theory. I'll need to connect the portal keys to the port..." Adorabeezle started to explain.

She trailed off. The Fenton portal was turned off, and a single RERE soldier was ripping wires out of the control panel.

"What the heck are you doing?" Minty asked angrily.

"Private Elsmere, miss. I've been ordered to make sure that nothing get's through here." the soldier replied.

"But we need that! Open it up!" Snowanna ordered.

Elsmere pressed a button on the console. The portal sparked, but nothing happened.

"Sorry, miss." Elsmere said.

Adorabeezle shook her head.

"Maybe I can do this without the portal. Guys, let's take a look at this console." Adorabeezle ordered.

The group nodded and made their way over to the console.

* * *

 _"Location: The Hall Of Souls, July 11th 2109"_

Vanellope and Swizzle crashed into a pillar with great force, smashing it into dust. Almost unfazed, they bounced back towards the Nightmare King. Swizzle charged his left fist with energy and uppercut the Nightmare King before Vanellope fired a blast of pixels at his chest. The Nightmare King was forced back, but he stayed on his feet. He scowled and created another ectoplasmic ball in his hands. He hurled it towards Vanellope and Swizzle, but the two of them leaped over it. However, they did not leap over the ray that followed it, and they were forced into the ceiling. There was a loud crash, and a chunk of the ceiling fell to the ground. Vanellope and Swizzle smirked.

"Sorry, we wrecked your painting!" Vanellope said in false surprise.

"I'll wreck more then that." the Nightmare King spat.

"I don't think so." Swizzle said.

He fired multiple energy blasts at his enemy. The Nightmare King dodged the first blast and blocked the rest with his arm, which he coated in fire. Swizzle's face fell.

"I had fire powers once." Swizzle muttered, dejectedly.

"Have some more." the Nightmare King sneered.

He sent a long ray of fire from both hands, which followed Swizzle as he and Vanellope leaped out of the way. The fire slammed into Swizzle from behind, pushing him into another pillar. The Nightmare King kept the stream of fire going for several seconds, before finishing his attack.

"Well, that was easy." the Nightmare King muttered.

The smoke from the fire cleared to reveal Swizzle standing on the pillar. He was singed and his outfit was torn in places, but he stood up straight regardless.

"Oh no. We're going to make you work for this crown." Swizzle said.

"You are lost, kids. Your friends are fighting for their lives as I speak. They will not win." the Nightmare King snapped.

"Your selling them short, Nightmare King. That's never a good idea." Vanellope said.

* * *

 _"Location: Amity Park, The World Of Nickelodeon, July 11th 2109"_

"Nope, not working. If the portal was open..." Adorabeezle started to say, taking the wire out of her portal key.

"Sorry, miss." Elsmere said.

"We know, Elsmere, you've said it fifteen times." Citrusella said. She turned to Adorabeezle and asked "What was your idea, anyway?".

"I thought I could get the portal keys working again. We could get help, and when we found Vanellope and Swizzle, we could get them out in time with a portal... if this stupid thing was open!" Adorabeezle replied.

She kicked the console. Just as soon as she did that, there was a sudden flash of white, the portal turned green, and the console lit up. Adorabeezle gasped and reattached the wire to her portal key, which activated immediately.

"It worked." Adorabeezle whispered. She turned to Minty and said "Minty, I need your help.".

* * *

On the other side of the Fenton Portal, there was a flash of white. When it died down, it revealed a motley but determined group headed into the unknown.

Minty had transformed into her Sakura form and then transformed into a hovercraft. Taffyta was at the controls, and the other Sugar Rush racers, Cinndon, Candace, Toxika, Damon, and Crepe were riding in the back. P.I.X.A.L., Jeremy, Sam, Tucker, and Jazz followed on the Fenton ATVs. Behind them, and heading in a different direction from the rest of the group, was Maleficent, who was in her dragon form. Rancis, Jubileena, and Elsmere were riding on her back.

"We'll see you when this is over! Tappers, I'm buying!" Taffyta called out.

"Looking forward to it!" Jubileena called back.

Taffyta grinned and looked away, steering in the direction of Pariah's Keep.

* * *

 _"Location: The Hall Of Souls, July 11th 2109"_

Vanellope and Swizzle were thrown into the marble floor, and they landed with such force that they made a crater. They wheezed heavily and climbed to their feet, staring down the Nightmare King.

"Is that the best you got, Anthony?" Swizzle asked weakly, wiping sweat and dust from his face.

"Why do you get up? You are beaten! Lay down and accept it!" the Nightmare King asked.

"We're just getting started, Nightmare King." Vanellope replied.

She and Swizzle leaped into the air, firing another blast of pixels and energy blast respectively. The battle was far from over.


	17. The Final Battle

**Chapter 17: The Final Battle**

 _"Location: Amity Park, The World Of Nickelodeon, July 11th 2109"_

Caught between a small army of ghost soldiers and the vast void of the Ghost Zone, protected only by the wreckage of the Specter Speeder, Millard began to wonder why he had volunteered for this mission. He and three other RERE troopers cowered behind the cover as the ghost soldiers fired relentlessly at them. They were trapped, out of ammunition, and pretty much doomed.

"Well, I guess this is why they call it a 'forlorn hope'." a trooper said.

Millard nodded and fixed a bayonet to his weapon.

"Well, gentlemen, it's been a privilege." Millard said.

He took a deep breath and prepared to make a final charge for Pariah's Keep. But before he could do that, he heard a dim droning noise the got louder and louder.

"What in the name of..." Millard started to ask.

The Minty hovercraft pelted over them and landed in front of the Keep. Sticky leaped out and threw marshmallow orbs at the ghost soldiers on the steps, trapping them in marshmallow goo. Behind her, P.I.X.A.L., Jeremy, Sam, Tucker, and Jazz landed, firing rockets. The wall of the keep exploded, and the soldiers were sent flying.

"Come on! One last effort, guys!" Taffyta shouted.

She raced into the keep, the other Sugar Rush racers, Cinndon, Candace, Toxika, Damon, Crepe, P.I.X.A.L., Jeremy, Sam, Tucker, and Jazz following after her. Millard blinked.

"This had been a particularly strange day." Millard muttered, following after them.

* * *

 _"Location: The Hall Of Souls, July 11th 2109"_

Vanellope and Swizzle skidded along the marble floor of the temple, landing face first in a crater. Swizzle wearily tried to get back up again, only to be forced down by a boot on his shoulder.

"You will not be getting up again, Von Schweetz and Malarkey." the Nightmare King sneered. He stomped down hard on Swizzle's back and said "You have fought valiantly. You are indeed a worthy king and queen. Such a shame to cut your reign short.". He unsheathed his sword, held it at Vanellope and Swizzle's necks, and started to say "Long live the...".

Suddenly, there was an ear-splitting roar. The Nightmare King looked up, just in time to see a dragon hurtling down towards him, mouth wide open. In a flash, it had scooped him up in it's jaws and was soaring up into the sky, three figures dropping from it's back.

"That probably wasn't the effect he was hoping for." Jubileena muttered, looking up at Maleficent's handiwork.

Swizzle pulled himself and Vanellope out of the crater. They looked over at Rancis, Jubileena, and Elsmere in shock.

"Rancis? Jubileena? How did you get here?" Vanellope asked.

"Sorry, I was overruled." Elsmere replied.

"Somebody had to get the portal open." Jubileena added.

Swizzle looked at Rancis and Jubileena.

"Guys, you shouldn't have come here." Swizzle said.

"What were we supposed to do, Swizzle? Leave you and Vanellope to die?" Jubileena asked angrily.

"Yeah, that was kind of the plan!" Vanellope replied.

"Well, it was a stupid plan! You and Swizzle can't beat him alone, Vanellope!" Rancis snapped.

"And what happens if you and Jubileena die?" Vanellope asked, putting her hands on Rancis's shoulders and shaking him.

"Then we'll die with you. We're a team, Vanellope." Jubileena replied.

"Uh, I don't mean to interrupt the reunion, but we might have a problem." Elsmere said.

They looked up. The Nightmare King was on Maleficent's neck, holding onto her head as if it was a set of reins. He was wrestling her down, out of the sky and towards the temple. With a mighty crash, they slammed into the bottom left corner, leveling the entire corner and kicking up a plume of dust and smoke. When it cleared, the Nightmare King was striding away from the wreckage, the unconscious form of Maleficent laying in the middle of the crater. Vanellope and Swizzle stood in front of him,

"Don't hurt anyone in here. We're the ones you want, Anthony." Swizzle snarled.

The Nightmare King extended an arm, and Vanellope and Swizzle were surrounded by a green aura. He flicked his arm to the left, and Vanellope and Swizzle soared off into another column. Rancis and Jubileena scowled, and Rancis transformed into his sugar mutant form while Jubileena and generated a cherry bomb.

"Bring it on, Nightmare King!" Jubileena snapped.

The Nightmare King turned to them.

"Very well, then." the Nightmare King said.

He drew his sword again and charged.

* * *

 _"Location: Amity Park, The World Of Nickelodeon, July 11th 2109"_

The Sugar Rush racers, Cinndon, Candace, Toxika, Damon, Crepe, P.I.X.A.L., Jeremy, Sam, Tucker, Jazz, Millard, and the troopers ran into the entrance hall of the keep. Taffyta suddenly skidded to a halt, her eyes wide.

A gigantic tank, three times the size of the Nightmare King's normal tanks and with no less then four turrets, was sitting in the entrance hall, Napoleon seated in the commander's hatch. The main gun was pointed at Taffyta and was preparing to fire.

"Oh..." Taffyta started to mutter.

It fired. Taffyta was shoved out of the way by Candlehead, but the ectoplasmic shell exploded next to them, knocking them hard into a wall. Jeremy rocketed into the air, firing a volley of rockets at the top of the tank. They bounced off the thick armor, and one of the smaller turrets immediately fired back. The shot hit, and Jeremy was knocked out of the sky, crashing through a wall and into the dungeon. He rubbed his head, groggily climbed to his feet, and noticed that he was standing in a hallway between several cells.

He turned around and came face to face with his mother.

* * *

In the streets of Amity Park, Robin Hood and Phoebus were surrounded by ghosts. They came from all sides, including above. Robin had long run out of arrows, and he and Phoebus were now down to defending themselves with the Jack O'Nine Tails and the Anti-Creep Stick respectively. They were being pushed back into the house, inch-by-inch.

There was a sudden crash, and a couple of ghost soldiers were knocked aside. Tony had come crashing into the street, his armor a torn mess. Almost immediately on landing, Steve and Coulson pushed through the chaos towards him. Steve gestured to Robin and Phoebus to come over. The four picked up the iron suited behemoth and carried him inside.

Not far away, Vlad was fighting through shades among the rooftops when he spied three figures on a nearby roof. He narrowed his eyes and soared towards them, his fists clenched. The Syndicate was about to have their day ruined.

* * *

 _"Location: The Hall Of Souls, July 11th 2109"_

Jubileena ducked under a swing of the Nightmare King's sword and then tried for an uppercut while he was recovering. She was too slow, and the Nightmare King grabbed her fist. He used it to swing her over his shoulder and slam her into the ground. Rancis spat out a spray of toxic sugar waste, which covered the Nightmare King, but it didn't affect him. The Nightmare King turned to Rancis and shot an ectoblast at him, sending him to the ground next to Jubileena. The Nightmare King then lifted his sword and prepared to finish them off.

"Get away from them." a voice ordered.

Swizzle had climbed to his feet again. He was limping towards the Nightmare King, summoning the very last of his energy.

"You don't know when to quit, do you? It would do you well if you just..." the Nightmare King started to say.

"I SAID GET AWAY FROM THEM!" Swizzle yelled.

The boom of the Sugar Wail smashed into the Nightmare King. The temple was ripped to shreds, blocks of marble torn from their foundations. The roof crumbled and was blown away. Elsmere leaped out of the way, and Rancis and Jubileena clung to the ground, but the Nightmare King was lifted into the air and buffeted by wreckage. He was thrown into the upper half of the temple and collided with the wall with such force that the whole thing collapsed and obscured everything in dust.

Swizzle fell to his knees, the last of his energy gone. In the dust, he could just see the Universal Divide lever, visible though the haze. He extended an arm and began to crawl. Every single movement was torture. His every bone and muscle ached, and he felt more tired then he had ever been in his life. Suddenly, his hand knocked on something hard. He looked up to find a camouflaged helmet roll away from him. The Nightmare King suddenly walked out of the dust, limping, covered in grime, and very annoyed.

"My, my, Malarkey. You truly are an insufferable little son of a glitch." the Nightmare King snarled.

* * *

 _"Location: Amity Park, The World Of Nickelodeon, July 11th 2109"_

"Will somebody please deal with that tank?" Crepe asked.

She, Minty, Candlehead, and Crepe were huddled behind a bookshelf, trying and failing to think of a way to get past the tank. The whole plan had ground to a halt (again), and they had no idea where the others were.

"Well, I guess this is the end." Candlehead said.

"Eh, we've been through worse." Minty said.

P.I.X.A.L. narrowed her eyes.

"Wait a minute, what's that smoke?" P.I.X.A.L. asked.

"That'll be the exhaust. Why?" Crepe asked. There was a long silence before she snapped "Oh no, I am not going out there.".

"Invisibility, Crepe. Your going in. We all are." Minty said.

"Oh, brilliant." Crepe muttered, nervously.

"On three. One...two... three!" Minty said.

They leaped out of cover and raced towards the exhaust. Up the stairs, behind the tank, a door burst open. Jeremy emerged with Dr. Flur right behind him.

"Get behind it! It can't fire from the rear!" Flur shouted.

Candlehead changed course and raced to the side. One of the turrets followed her, charging to fire, but then there was a metallic clang and it stopped moving.

"You heard her! Run!" Candlehead heard Damon yell.

The other Sugar Rush racers, Cinndon, Candace, Toxika, Damon, Sam, Tucker, Jazz, Millard, and the troopers emerged from behind the rubble of the front of the building, running as fast as they could towards the back. Candlehead and Minty reached the exhaust pipe. Minty transformed into her Sakura form and then transformed her right hand into a very sharp blade, which she jammed into the pipe, and then dragged Candlehead back.

"Get back! It's going to blow!" Minty yelled.

Candlehead dived into the ground and covered her head. There was a loud bang, followed by a very long silence. Candlehead got up and turned around. The tank was now a smoking wreck, a very dazed Napoleon climbing down from the hatch.

"Well, discretion is the better part of valor." Napoleon muttered, lifting up his hands.

"How did you know it was weak from behind?" Nougetsia asked.

"They made me build it and their other tanks. Never rely on kidnapped labor, children." Flur replied.

Jeremy smiled.

"Guys, this is my mom." Jeremy introduced.

Snowanna glanced between Flur and Jeremy.

"You know, I thought you'd be taller." Snowanna said.

* * *

 _"Location: The Hall Of Souls, July 11th 2109"_

Swizzle gazed up at the Nightmare King, his face falling. He tried to get up and stand up to him, but he couldn't find the strength.

"This is the end. No more getting up, no more last stands, no more deceptions. There is no Gizmo to save you now. It is just us, and soon it will be just me." the Nightmare King sneered.

"Get away from him!" a voice ordered.

Maleficent limped out of the dust, her staff aimed at the Nightmare King.

"Come over here and fight me! Or are you afraid?" Maleficent asked angrily.

"I am not afraid of a mere woman!" the Nightmare King replied angrily.

"Then prove it. Come on, you and me." Maleficent ordered.

"Maleficent, don't." Swizzle said weakly.

"Challenge accepted, girl." the Nightmare King said, stepping over Swizzle.

Swizzle felt something lift him as he tried to reach the lever. He looked up and saw that Jubileena was limping towards the lever and carrying him on her shoulder. Rancis was doing the same with Vanellope.

"Any last words, girl?" the Nightmare King asked, marching up to Maleficent.

"Yes. I'm Maleficent, and I'm not afraid of you." Maleficent replied.

The Nightmare King extended an arm.

"Charming." the Nightmare King growled.

A burst of ectoplasmic energy slammed into Maleficent, throwing her into the air. She slammed back into the ground with great force, sending dust and smoke pluming into the air. Once it cleared, Maleficent was seen laying in a crater, covered in bruises, grime, and wounds, looking up at the swirling sky. The Nightmare King walked up to her, his arms crossed.

"Well, what did that prove?" the Nightmare King asked.

Maleficent chuckled weakly.

"That you lose." Maleficent replied.

The Nightmare King turned around. Vanellope and Swizzle's hands were on the lever, Rancis and Jubileena's hands on top of theirs.

"Kids, don't you dare..." the Nightmare King started to say.

Vanellope and Swizzle both pulled. There was a sudden gust of wind, and a rip in space of time began to open behind the Nightmare King. On the other side, there was nothing but a white void.

"No! Mercy, please!" the Nightmare King shouted.

Vanellope and Swizzle looked at him. Both of their eyes were a pure irisless brown.

"We gave you a chance, Anthony." Vanellope said, her voice echoing.

The rip opened up, and the Nightmare King was lifted off his feet. He screamed as he was sucked into the void.

* * *

 _"Location: Amity Park, The World Of Nickelodeon, July 11th 2109"_

The keep began to shake, and Adorabeezle was nearly thrown off her feet. Outside, the sky turned red.

"What the heck was that?" Jazz asked.

"They did it. It's the Universal Divide. We have to leave!" Adorabeezle replied.

She pressed a button on her portal key, opening a portal next to them. Using the confusion as a distraction, Napoleon slipped away.

"Wait! We have to wait for Vanellope and Swizzle! We can't just..." Candlehead started to say.

"They'll meet us there, Candlehead. Now come on!" Sam shouted, grabbing the hood of her jacket.

"No! I can't leave them! We have to wait!" Candlehead shouted.

"Move!" Taffyta thundered, dragging Candlehead by the collar into the portal.

* * *

The portal emerged in the first aid house. Candlehead broke free from the group and ran for the door, brushing past Charbonneau and Fury, who were looking up at the sky in astonishment. A white portal had opened up in place of the Nightmare King's portal, and his army was being sucked into it en-masse. On the roof above them, the Syndicate (currently in the middle of a rather nasty beating from Vlad) shuddered as shades were sucked out of their bodies.

She raced down the street and jumped down into the Fenton's lab. She landed badly, but quickly recovered, and raced towards the Fenton Portal. The portal was fizzling and sparking, going haywire as the swirling mass within began to spin, slowly at first, but then faster and faster. There was a low whine as parts of the metal casing began to fall off and the console began to smoke.

Then there was a loud bang, and the portal died away. Candlehead ran into the portal and slammed her hand on the 'ON' button. Nothing happened. She pressed it repeatedly until she found herself being dragged out of the portal.

* * *

 _"Location: Earth, July 11th 2109"_

In New York, both in the real world and the Dream World, police officers and soldiers emerged from their dugouts, looking around in disbelief at the now quiet streets. Slowly, it began to dawn on them that it was over.

In Moscow, civilians and soldiers slowly began to cheer, one by one. They danced, cried, and shook hands with one another, celebrating the end.

In Beijing, an impromptu street party was beginning to break out as people left their shelters and hideouts. It would not end for several days.

In Canberra, one by one, parties of soldiers and police began to set off green flares to indicate that the fighting was over. The streams of smoke wafted into the air, contrasting the late evening sky.

The nightmare was over.

* * *

 _"Location: The Hall Of Souls, July 11th 2109"_

Rancis and Jubileena backed away from Vanellope and Swizzle, who were still pulsating with power. Their eyes were still pure brown.

"Vanellope, Swizzle, we... we've got to get out of here." Jubileena said.

"The divide is over, Jubileena. The portal keys won't work anymore." Swizzle said.

He and Vanellope looked over at Maleficent. The dark fairy laid in the crater, her eyes closed.

"We won't have this power for long, guys. But right now, with all this power... we can do anything." Vanellope said.

"Your creeping me out." Rancis said.

"I can see them. The strands between worlds and all the portals and connections between them. I can see us stranded here forever, and I can see Maleficent fading away." Swizzle said.

"Swizzle?" Jubileena asked.

"And I can say no." Swizzle replied.

He raised his arms, and energy pulsed into the sky. A white mist began to build up around them.

"The Man in the Black Suit was wrong. We're not trapped." Vanellope said. She smiled and said "We're going home.".

There was a loud boom and everything went white.

* * *

 _"Location: Amity Park, The World Of Nickelodeon, July 11th 2109"_

Candlehead was walking slowly back to the house. Citrusella was behind her, her arm around the green haired girl's shoulder. Both had been crying.

"Look, I know that it's bad, but they did what they had to do. For all of us. We would have done the same for..." Citrusella started to say.

She trailed off as a swirl of white energy appeared in front of them. It spun around, creating a suction effect with the nearby wind. Then there was a crack, and they weren't alone. Their jaws dropped.

Vanellope and Swizzle stood in the street, flanked by Rancis, Jubileena, Maleficent, and Elsmere. They were all very much worse for wear.

"Well, we're not dead or trapped. I'd call that a success." Vanellope said, her voice slightly high pitched.

She grinned broadly and immediately passed out.


	18. Epilogue

**Chapter 18: Epilogue**

"So what exactly happened, Miss Von Schweetz and Mr. Malarkey?" Charbonneau asked.

Charbonneau leaned over the desk in Mr. Lancer's office, his eyes piercing Vanellope and Swizzle's. Almost as soon as they had returned to the house, with barely time to let everyone know they weren't trapped, they were immediately grilled by everyone from Nick Fury to UNIT. All of those officials wanted to know one thing, and all of them got the same answer.

"It's hard to describe. When I touched that lever, I just had this... surge of power, and I felt like I knew things that I didn't before. It was like me, Vanellope, and the universe became one." Swizzle replied.

"And what did you learn? What knowledge did you get?" Charbonneau asked.

"Me and Swizzle can't remember much. It all disappeared after we left the Hall of Souls." Vanellope replied.

Charbonneau sat down, nodding curtly.

"How did you know so much about the Universal Divide? I mean, I know you were watching the Man in the Bla... Romulus, but you can't have gotten that much from him, could you?" Vanellope asked.

Charbonneau smirked.

"I'm an intelligence officer. I have agents to tell me these things." Charbonneau replied.

He stood up and turned to the window. He tucked his hands behind his back.

"I will tell you, though. I've kept a litany of things from you, but I assure you, I kept Gizmo in the dark as well. He did not lie to you." Charbonneau said.

He was quiet for some time.

"You may leave now, Miss Von Schweetz and Mr. Malarkey." Charbonneau said.

Vanellope and Swizzle got up and walked out of the room quickly, glad to be able to leave.

* * *

Vanellope and Swizzle stepped out the front doors of the school to be met with rapturous applause. They smiled awkwardly as they walked down the steps, unsure of how to react. The two of them passed through the crowd outside, drifting through various people that offered them congratulations, until they eventually reached what they were looking for. The other Sugar Rush racers, Cinndon, Candace, Toxika, Damon, and Crepe were standing next to the wall around the corner, away from the crowd.

"So how does it feel being a hero?" Gloyd asked, smirking.

Vanellope and Swizzle grinned.

"Hey, come on. You guys are heroes too. I mean, if you hadn't come after us..." Vanellope started to reply.

"What did you expect? We're a team!" Torvald said.

"And you two are never allowed to leave us behind again." Cinndon added.

* * *

Vlad walked into his mansion, the Syndicate dejectedly following after him. He walked straight towards the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water.

"Well, gentlemen, this matter has been a complete fiasco. But I think we can salvage this." Vlad said.

Calamitous collapsed in a heap against a wall.

"Oh, why bother? We've lost so many times I can't even remember what winning feels like." Calamitous said.

"One cannot remember what one has never experienced." Vlad said.

Calamitous glared at him.

"But I have a theory. We need to branch out. The four of us are not enough." Vlad said.

"Then what do we do? Does it involve..." Crocker started to ask.

"It does not involve fairy godparents in any way, shape, or form." Vlad replied.

"Oh." Crocker said.

"No, we need to franchise. To hire every opportunist and like-minded individual in the multiverse and bring them into our fold. We need to treat the Syndicate like a business, with employees and everything." Vlad said.

"Aw, that sounds hard." Plankton said.

"Yes, but it will be rewarding. Who's with me?" Vlad asked.

Calamitous climbed to his feet, dusting himself off. He grinned nastily as he thought over Vlad's plan.

"Well then, let's..." Calamitous started to say.

"Franchise?" Crocker asked.

"The pause was for dramatic effect, you dunce!" Calamitous replied angrily. He then shook his head and said "In any case, the Syndicate is back.".

He laughed manically, unaware of the rest of the Syndicate backing away awkwardly at the outburst.

* * *

"So, how are you doing?" Steve asked.

He and Tony were in the infirmary aboard the helicarrier. Tony was in a bed, several bandages wrapped around his limps, but he was recovering.

"I'm fine. Nothing really hurt but my ego... actually, no, nothing hurt at all. Nothing can hurt my ego." Tony replied.

"So, the RERE guys sent a fruit basket." Steve said.

"How many hidden cameras?" Tony asked.

"Three, but I took them out." Steve replied.

Tony sighed contentedly and laid back.

* * *

 _"Location: Litwak's Arcade, The World Of Disney, July 16th 2109"_

"Alright, Sugar Rush, fall in!" Vanellope ordered.

Vanellope walked into her throne room, and the Sugar Rush racers, Cinndon, Candace, Toxika, Damon, and Crepe sloppily raised to attention. It had been five days since the battle in Amity Park, and the Sugar Rush president/leader was eager to get everything back to some form of normalcy. She walked over to her group.

"Alright, we got a new mission. You guys remember how Napoleon got away from us at the end of the battle? Well, we found him, and he's trying to take over the Benbow Inn. We're going to take him in. Are you guys up for that?" Vanellope asked.

"Right behind you, Vanellope." Taffyta replied.

"Following you is our job!" Candace added, brightly.

Vanellope nodded.

"Well then, let's go." Vanellope said.

She pressed a button on her portal key, and a portal opened next to them. The group ran inside, leaving the throne room in silence.


End file.
